US Patent and Trademark Office

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a sub-agency of the Department of Commerce, acquires contracts and services supporting patent and trademark examination, intellectual property policy, outreach, and agency operations. The USPTO operates under the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act, which grants it exemption from standard federal competition requirements and enables the use of alternative competition procurement methods under the Patent and Trademark Office Acquisition Guidelines (PTAG).

The USPTO has issued 15,721 federal contract awards cumulatively since 1979, with a combined potential value of $24.71 billion and $17.05 billion obligated (69% of potential value). Recent contract activity shows declining annual volume: 233 awards in 2022, 205 in 2023, 181 in 2024, 185 in 2025, and 133 year-to-date in 2026. The most recent recorded award date is October 18, 2026. The agency has engaged 2,140 distinct prime contractors across its portfolio history.

Competitive concentration is highly fragmented. The top five contractors by award count over the last five years hold 11 percent of recent awards, led by Advanced Computer Concepts, Inc. (25 awards, $7.5 million combined potential value), CPA Global (Landon IP) Inc. (21 awards, $58.5 million), and CSP Enterprises, LLC (20 awards, $56.5 million). By potential value, concentration remains highly fragmented at 3 percent of recent combined value, with Halvik LLC ($188 million across 12 awards), Accenture Federal Services LLC ($181.8 million across 13 awards), and Thundercat Technology, LLC ($140.4 million across 18 awards) leading. The long tail of smaller contractors and task-order holders constitutes the majority of the portfolio.

Set-aside activity heavily favors open competition: 74 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation. Small-business set-asides account for 21 percent of awards (3,349 awards total). 8(a) sole-source awards represent 2 percent of volume (343 awards), competitive 8(a) 1 percent, and WOSB, HUBZone, and SDVOSB designations collectively account for less than 1 percent.

The USPTO is actively soliciting support across multiple operational domains via its PTAG alternative competition authority. Current opportunities reflect the agency's emphasis on market research and vendor qualification through RFIs and special notices. Notable recent solicitations include an intent to sole-source real estate planning and management support services to FD Stonewater, LLC (due October 28, 2026); an intent to sole-source Patent Examination Review Assistant development to Solve Intelligence, Inc. (anticipated award December 14, 2026); and a sources-sought RFI for nationwide public awareness campaign services on counterfeit pharmaceuticals and medical devices (RFI due November 6, 2026). The agency is also gathering market information on executive recruitment services (RFI-27-0182, due October 28, 2026), name-image-likeness outreach (RFI-27-1001, revised due October 26, 2026), and patent examiner training program review and revision (ACQ-26-9999, due September 30, 2026). A super intelligence roundtable with USPTO leadership to inform future SI-related procurement strategy was held October 15, 2026 (RSVP deadline was October 7, 2026).

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is the agency responsible for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks.