Business Oriented Software Solutions (BOSS)

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) established a Master IDIQ called Business Oriented Software Solutions (BOSS) on April 2, 2021, to procure software development, integration, and IT services for COTS products and customized applications, with ordering authority extending through April 1, 2031 — approximately four years and eight months of remaining runway.

The vehicle carries a partial small-business set-aside at the vehicle level, though task-order activity shows a predominantly unrestricted competitive environment: 68% of 25 awarded orders carry no set-aside designation, 28% are designated Partial Small Business, and 4% are Total Small Business. This mix indicates that while the vehicle reserves capacity for small business, the bulk of ordering flows through unrestricted competition.

Halvik, LLC dominates the award base with 10 orders valued at $190 million in combined potential, representing roughly 42% of the vehicle's total. Science Applications International Corporation and Steampunk, Inc. hold the next two positions with $132.5 million and $75.1 million respectively, while Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. and Riva Solutions Inc. round out the five-firm awardee base. The top three primes account for approximately 79% of combined potential value, indicating material concentration but not exclusionary dominance.

All 25 task orders to date fund USPTO programs — the customer base shows no diversification across agencies. Recent ordering momentum has been robust: 2024 saw 14 awards, though 2025 dropped to 2 and 2026 has produced only 1 award year-to-date as of May 2026. The vehicle has obligated $292 million of its combined task-order potential value of $452.2 million (65%), with a shared ceiling of $2 billion across the master IDIQ.

Task-order scope emphasizes IT operations, security, and development: recent examples include IT Developmental Security Operations Support Services, Internet and Intranet Site DevSecOps Services, Patent Business Content Management Services, Network Operations Support, Site Reliability Engineering assistance, and Patent Administrative Center operations and maintenance. Pricing is predominantly Labor Hours (13 of the 14 most recent orders), with Firm Fixed Price and Time and Materials appearing less frequently. Order values range widely, from minimum-guarantee $1,000 awards in the initial 2022 cohort to mega-orders exceeding $70 million (Patent Administrative Center O&M at $73.7 million ceiling).

Typical task-order durations span three to five years, with completion dates extending through 2030–2031. All work is performed for USPTO and its internal product teams across software development, platform support, infrastructure operations, and program management functions.

Business Oriented Software Solutions (BOSS) is the USPTO's requirement for software development and integration services for commercial off the shelf (COTS) products with customized software applications, database applications, and other solutions. The USPTO Office of the Chief Information Officer's (OCIO) vision is to transform the agency with next generation technology and services with BOSS.