PTS RFP 1333BJ21R00151001 Amendment 0001.pdf

Document Number: 1333BJ21R00151001 Page 1 of 3

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

02/09/2021

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER

150P2101000

5. PROJECT NUMBER (If applicable)

1333BJCODE

Office of Procurement US Patent and Trademark Office PO Box 1450-Mail Stop 6 600 Dulany St.,MDE, 7th Floor

ALEXANDRIA, VA 22313-1450

6. ISSUED BY CODE7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

1333BJ21R00151001

CODE FACILITY CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (Number, street, country, state and ZIP Code) (X)

X 9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

01/25/2021

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER

NUMBER

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

X XThe above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is extended, is not extended, Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods: (a) By completing items 8 and 15, and returning ____copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment your desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS.

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT

ORDER NUMBER IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return _______ copies to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

Please see the updated documents issued in response to the Q&A.

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print) 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print) Jonathan E Bettis

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 15C. DATE SIGNED

By (Signature of Contracting Officer)

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16C. DATE SIGNED

NSN 7540-01-152-8070

Previous edition unusable

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV.

11/2016) Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Question # Question Category Inquiry Answer

1 General Is this effort staff aug or strictly records management? Offerors should propose staff commensurate with their proposed technical solution to the requirement.

2 Formatting

Given the complex nature of the required workflow diagrams, the previous RFP for this effort allowed them to be submitted on 11x17 pages in Times New Roman 9 point font.

Will the government allow workflow diagrams to be submitted on 11x17 pages in Times New Roman 9 point font to enable offerors to include the necessary processing steps for each task area on one page?

We agree with this change, and the instructions are updated accordingly.

3 Due Date The current proposal due date is 10:00 AM EST on February 15, 2021. Given that this is a federal holiday (President’s Day) will the government move the due date one day to The proposal due date is extended to February 16, 2021.

4 Formatting Does the government have any file size restrictions for the email proposal submission?

Our current servers limit external files to 35MB.

Offerors are free to submit multiple emails in order to accommodate this size restriction.

5 Evaluation Criteria

The Volume I instructions begin with the statement, “The offeror must completely address all of the tasks described in the Statement of Work and provide sufficient detail on the proposed approach for each task to allow the TEP to adequately evaluate that approach.” However, this is not covered anywhere in the Evaluation Criteria.

In order to allow Offerors to effectively and completely address their understanding and approach for each task area, will the Government please allocate an additional 20 pages for this narrative and add it to the Evaluation Criteria?

The USPTO will evaluate the entirety of the technical approach and personnel as indicated in Factor 1. The Instructions to Offeror languages is designed to remind offerors to fully address the requirement so that the USPTO may evaluate it in accordance with each of the stated evaluation factors. Additionally, please review Factor 1, Workflow diagrams under Section 11 Evaluation. Offerors may use up to 33 Pages, one page per task to address their understanding and approach for each task indicated. For tasks not listed, the USPTO would expect offerors to address those in the Technical Proposal to be evaluated in accordance with the stated criteria.

6 Evaluation Factor 1 Could the Government please explain what it means by “scheduling plan”?

Offeror's plan to manage the workload throughout all tasks.

7 Labor Hours

Labor Hours for each FTE are shown as 2,080 even though only productive hours will be billed to the Government. Will the government allow Offerors to change the number of hours per FTE to its estimated number of productive hours per FTE?

The labor categories in Task 13 are designed to staff each position for all days where the USPTO is open.

This means that the requirement for each position excludes Federal holidays but otherwise requires staff to be present for all required dates that the USPTO is open.

Offerors may revise only this element of the pricing matrix but must otherwise ensure that the requisite number of FTEs are available to staff each position.

8 Past Performance Does the Government have a minimum or maximum number of past performance examples required? No

9 Formatting Does the Government require a filled out SF 1449 and acknowledgment of Amendments to be included in the Business Proposal? No.

10 SOW, Task 1 Can the Government give an average number of patented or abandoned files on the monthly pull report?

The average per month is 1,900 files based on a current quarterly analysis; however maximum quantities or lower quantities may be reached during high and low peak times.

11 SOW, Task 1 Other than the annual inventory of all file rooms, can the Government indicate how often an inventory request is made?

These requests are made on an ad hoc basis. In the last three years there have been no requests, but the USPTO expects at least one to occur in the next year as the USPTO consolidates available space.

12 Incumbent Who it the current incumbent? The current incumbent is DTSV, Inc.

13 Incumbent What is the current contract number? The current contract number is DOC50PAPT1300024.

14 SOW, Task 1 What are the hours of operation (M-F) for the file rooms? Core Agency Office hours 8:30 am to 5:00 pm 15 SOW, Task 3 What are the hours of operation (M-F) for the mail rooms? Core Agency Office hours 8:30 am to 5:00 pm

16 SOW, Task 15 Where is the Project Manager’s primary location?

The Project Manager will be located at the Shirlington, VA, Randolph Square Building.

17 SOW, Task 15 Where is the Operation Manager’s primary location?

The Operations Manager will be located at the Shirlington, VA, Randolph Square Building.

18 SOW, General What are the standard hours of operation for OPAP? Mailroom? Core Agency Office hours 8:30 am to 5:00 pm

19 SOW, Task 1 Instructions indicate that the Contractor dispatches and delivers to the BU POC. Do we need to provide transportation/courier service to the BU POC’s location? Yes.

20 SOW, Task 2AA Where is the Pre-Grant Publication Office (PG) located? Will transportation/courier be needed to fulfill requests from this location?

Removed the sentence on Page 7 of the SOW, Task 2AA referencing Pre-Grant Publication.

21 SOW, Task 3AB What is the approximate increase in volume before/after Count Monday? How many additional people are typically required to cover increase?

The USPTO is unable to provide a firm estimate at this time. The value could be as much as double however this largely depends on examiner productivity.

22 SOW, T11AA

The statement of work indicates that PCT 371 National Stage corrections need to be completed in 3 business days while the metrics indicates a 2 business day time frame.

Can you provide clarification?

The Performance Metrics chart has been updated to reflect 3 business days

23 SOW, General How many employees are currently working in each task area?

Right now the number of total employees for related tasks in the current requirement is contractor-governed.

The answer to this question would largely depend on the contractor's approach and technical solution to the requirement.

24 Attachment 10 Is the current contractor meeting the performance standards? Yes.

US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) Questions Posed to the Patent Technical Services (PTS) Request for Proposal (RFP) 1333BJ21R00151001

25 Attachment 10 How many times has the current contractor exceeded the performance standards?

The USPTO does not currently have contractor past performance information uploaded into CPARS, but any report would not indicate any adverse past performance at this time.

26 Attachment 10 How many times has the current contractor not meet the performance standards?

The USPTO does not currently have contractor past performance information uploaded into CPARS, but any report would not indicate any adverse past performance at this time.

27 General Is there an employee union? No.

28 General Will the contractor have the ability to work outside of established business hours?

Yes. Offeror should plan to be flexible while maintaining Core hours in order to perform the requirements of the contract

29 Security Processing How long is the clearance process taking?

Clearance currently takes 30 days but this may vary depending on the number of contractors onboarding across the organization.

30 General Does the Government provide training for new employees or is training entirely the responsibility of the contractor?

Yes. The Government will provide training and SOPs during the transition period and throughout the life of the contract. There may be additional training to coincide with any new requirements or changes in requirements.

31 General What is the current contractor employee turnover rate?

The USPTO processes between 10 and 20 new clearances for employees per year.

32 SOW, General What is the expectation for handling surges in applications and other inflows?

The expectation is that the Offeror will handle surges while still meeting the performance metrics. Any deviations from the metrics will need to be addressed with the Contracting Officer Representative.

Patent Technical Services (PTS) Request for Proposal No.: 1333BJ21R00151001

Patent Technical Services

(See FAR 12.303 and 15)

Version Date: 2/8/2021

1. BACKGROUND

Patent Technical Services (PTS) requirement involves reviewing newly received U.S. patent applications for completeness and compliance with all filing requirements including United States Patent and Trademark Organization (USPTO) and Federal rules to determine readiness for examination. The requirement includes the following broad tasks: Incoming Mail Processing and Formality Review Process, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) International and National Stage Application Processing, Technology Center Document Receipt and Mail Processing, and Administrative Clerical. There is a relatively small amount of administrative clerical and file maintenance work. The current contract generally staffs approximately 300 contractor support staff ranging in various clerical positions which use USPTO Information Technology (IT) systems to perform duties under this requirement.

2. OBJECTIVE/SCOPE

The scope of work for this requirement is detailed in Request for Proposal (RFP) Attachment 1: Statement of Work.

3. DELIVERABLE SCHEDULE

All deliverables with all required delivery dates and requirements are defined in RFP Attachment 1:

Statement of Work.

4. PRICES/COSTS

Please complete the price table within Attachment 2 for the performance periods under this contract.

Please note the following critical pricing elements:

(i) Pricing is provided at the unit level, and the Business Volume instructions below provide additional details on unit-price breakouts.

(ii) Please pay close attention to the equitable adjustment language in the introduction section to the Statement of Work (SOW). Quantities may vary over time, and any contract awarded will allow for an increase or decrease in the contract value based on actual units required in a given period.

(iii) Unit pricing does not depend on quantities ordered, and pricing should reflect this fact.

5. CONTRACT TYPE

Single-award, Firm-Fixed Price Contract (note that this requirement includes Labor Hour CLINs).

6. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The Period of Performance will start on the date of award and continue for 12 months thereafter. This section will be updated at award to reflect actual dates based on the date of award.

Period of Performance Start Date End Date

Base Period Date of Award 12 Months Following Date of Award

Option Period 1 Expiration of Base Period 12 Months Following Exercise of Option Period 1

Option Period 2 Expiration of Option Period 1 12 Months Following Exercise of Option Period 2

Option Period 3 Expiration of Option Period 2 12 Months Following Exercise of Option Period 3

Option Period 4 Expiration of Option Period 3 12 Months Following Exercise of Option Period 4

7. PLACE(S) OF DELIVERY

Work will be performed on the USPTO campuses in Alexandria, VA and Shirlington, VA. Note that the offeror may be required to telework as required by the Contracting Officer or Contracting Officer’s Representative.

8. CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE (COR)

To be determined at time of award.

A Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) and Task Level Manager will be designated on authority of the Contracting Officer to monitor all technical aspects and assist in administering the contract. The types of actions within the purview of the COR's and/or Task Level Manager’s authority are to assure that the Contractor performs the technical requirements of the contract; to perform or cause to be performed inspections necessary in connection with performance of the contract; to maintain both written and oral communications with the Contractor concerning the aspects of the contract within his/her purview; to issue written interpretations of technical requirements of Government drawings, designs and specifications;

to monitor the Contractor's performance under the contract and notify the Contractor and Contracting Officer of any deficiencies observed; and to coordinate Government-Furnished Property or Data availability and provide for site entry of Contractor personnel if required. A letter of designation will be issued to the COR and Task Level Manager, with a copy supplied to the Contractor, stating the responsibilities and limitations of the COR and Task Level Manager. This letter will clarify to all parties to the contract the responsibilities of the COR and Task Level Manager. At no time may the scope of work, price, delivery dates, or other mutually agreed upon terms or provisions of the contract be changed without being executed in writing by the Contracting Officer authorizing such changes.

9. SET ASIDE STATUS

This requirement is a 100% Small Business Set-Aside. Offerors who are not classified as Small Businesses in the designated NAICS code are not eligible to respond.

NAICS: 518210 – Data processing, hosting, and related services Small Business Size Standard: $35M

10. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 – Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items (JUN 2020)

In accordance with FAR 12.302(a), the following information supplements the provision FAR 52.212-1 – Instructions to Offerors which is incorporated by reference in this solicitation. All content in this addendum takes precedence over the content described in 52.212-1 which is included below. In the event of a conflict between the language of 52.212-1 below and this addendum, the addendum controls.

Introduction

The Government reserves the right to not evaluate or consider any incomplete proposal. An incomplete proposal is defined as one that is lacking the information required below. An incomplete proposal may be considered unacceptable by the Government. Offerors must assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their facilities and experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the offeror’s proposal.

The offeror must show a thorough understanding of the required tasks as specified in the requirements. The technical proposal must specifically address the requirements rather than simply repeating the language. The proposal must be written in enough detail so that a review panel can adequately judge its full merits.

Although the SOW defines each task, it is up to the offeror to propose the most effective method for carrying out the tasks. The offeror is encouraged to exercise independent judgment with respect to the best methods of attaining the objectives of this requirement.

The offeror's submission shall consist of two volumes: Volume I: Technical Proposal and Volume II:

Business Proposal. All information necessary to judge the technical soundness and management capabilities of the offeror must be contained in the Technical Proposal. The Technical Proposal must NOT contain any reference to specific prices. The Business Proposal will contain all information related to the determination of the price associated with each of the project's tasks. Please note, offerors must follow instructions for submission of their proposals as each proposal will be checked for completeness and compliance with instructions. Any proposal determined to be incomplete or noncompliant may be excluded from evaluation. Additionally, proposals rated Unsatisfactory for any of the evaluation criteria stated below are ineligible for award.

Volume I: Technical Proposal The offeror must completely address all of the tasks described in the Statement of Work and provide sufficient detail on the proposed approach for each task to allow a Technical Evaluation Panel (TEP) to adequately evaluate that approach. All information necessary to evaluate the technical soundness and management capabilities of the offeror will be contained in the technical proposal. The TEP will not make assumptions or guesses. The Technical Proposal also includes the 33 workflow diagrams referenced in the Evaluation Section below.

The technical volume must be submitted in PDF format. Technical volumes must adhere to the following formatting requirements:

• 70 Page Limit (includes content required for all evaluation criteria);

• Font size no smaller than 12-point;

• Single-spaced 8½ x 11 11 x 17 inch pages with a font size no smaller than 9-point and margins no smaller than one inch on every side;

• Any charts, graphs, or tables may be single-spaced with a font size no smaller than 10-point, and may only be used to add context and/or clarity. For example, offerors may not include charts as entire pages in order to circumvent the spacing requirement for lines of text.

• Title page (Not to Exceed 1 page and does not count against the 70 page limit)

• Table of contents (Not to Exceed 1 page and does not count against the 70 page limit). Table of contents should indicate the page number of each section, figures or tables.

• Appendix A: Resumes (Not to Exceed 10 pages and does not count against the 70 page limit)

• Appendix B: Scenario Questions (Not to Exceed 7 pages and does not count against the 70 page limit)

The USPTO will not consider any proposal pages in excess of the page limits described herein.

Volume II – Business Proposal The business proposal must be submitted as a separate document from the technical proposal.

The business proposal must be submitted as both a PDF and an Excel document. The business proposal has no page limit. The business proposal must be formatted in a readable way (e.g., no tiny fonts). The business proposal shall start with a cover page that provides:

• The name of the offeror;

• The website address of the offeror (if applicable);

• The point of contact (name, phone number, email address) of an offeror representative who can answer any questions that USPTO may have;

• The offeror’s DUNS number;

• Date; and

• The names and telephones numbers of persons authorized to conduct negotiations.

The business proposal must contain complete information in sufficient detail for the USPTO to make a fair and reasonable price determination and must contain the following items:

(i ) Offerors shall complete Attachment 2, for the Base Year and each of the four option years. All labor categories identified shall include a fully burdened hourly rate (including wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses, profit, etc.) for on-site and off-site rates. In addition, offerors must provide a unit breakout showing how each unit price is calculated (e.g. labor category/rate/Other Direct Costs, etc.). The USPTO will not use this information to perform a Cost Analysis or a Price Realism Analysis.

(ii ) If subcontractors are proposed, these prices should also be included in the prime contractor’s total price for each CLIN. In the buildup for each CLIN, it should be clear which costs are associated with the prime contractor and which costs are associated with subcontractors.

(iii ) If subcontractors are proposed, FAR 52.219-14 requires that “[a]t least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern” The offeror shall include a chart comparing proposed costs between the prime and all subcontractors in order to aid in the Government’s analysis of this issue.

(iv) If the offeror is a JV, the protégé firm must perform at least 40% of the work to be performed by the

JV. If the offeror is a JV, partners to a JV in the aggregate must demonstrate the capabilities, past performance, experience, business systems, and certifications necessary for award.

If the offeror has a team of small business subcontracts the offeror must demonstrate that prime offeror and the team of small business subcontracts has the capabilities, past performance, experience, business systems and certifications necessary for award.

Conflict of Interest

The Business Proposal must include a Conflict of Interest Plan (COI Plan). The COI plan must provide details on the offeror’s policies and procedures to identify and avoid both potential organizational or personal conflicts of interest (actual or apparent conflicts of interest). The Plan must also address procedures taken to neutralize or mitigate such conflicts if they have not been or cannot be avoided. The Plan must indicate that such policies and procedures are operative throughout the period of performance of the contract. The policies should address, at a minimum, gifts, outside activities financial interests, or other significant connections or identifications that would establish, or give the appearance of establishing, a conflict of interest. In this clause, the term “potential conflict” means reasonably foreseeable conflict of interest.

The thoroughness, completeness, and effectiveness of the Plan will be assessed as part of the offeror’s overall proposal but not rated. The Plan will be incorporated into the awarded contract.

Completed Representations and Certifications Offerors must complete the the Representations and Certifications included in this RFP. The document must be signed and provided with each Offeror’s business proposal. The USPTO will review the Certifications and Representations, but the Cetifications and Representations will not be rated.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

1. Solicitation Questions Questions regarding this solicitation must be submitted via email to: Samantha.Moore@uspto.gov and Jonathan.Bettis@uspto.gov no later than 10:00 AM (EST) on January 3, 2021. Offerors should submit questions in the following format:

Question No. Reference Question # RFP section, page Question

The offeror should note the solicitation number in the email subject line for questions. Each attachment should contain the offeror’s name.

mailto:Matt.Zorch@uspto.gov mailto:Heather.Watroba@uspto.gov

2. Proposal Submission Proposals shall be electronically submitted via email to: Samantha.Moore@uspto.gov and Jonathan.Bettis@uspto.gov no later than 10:00 AM (EST) on February 15 16, 2021.

Proposals received after the established due date and time will be rejected.

3. Proposal Acceptance Period USPTO requires a minimum proposal acceptance period of 180 calendar days from the due date for proposal submission specified in this RFP.

11. EVALUATION

In accordance with FAR 12.301(c)(2), the following provision is hereby included as an addendum in lieu of the provision FAR 52.212-2:

USPTO will award one contract to the Offeror whose proposal, conforming to the RFP, is the most advantageous to USPTO, price and other factors considered. The CO will employ a tradeoff methodology in order to identify the best value. Price/cost is significantly less important than technical merit. In the event that one or more offeror’s technical approaches are more similar to one another, then price becomes a more important factor. The agency reserves the right to make no award off this solicitation if it is in the best interest of the agency to do so.

For the purposes of making an award decision, the technical evaluation panel will provide one rating for each factor. There will be no rating for each individual sub factor nor will there be a summary or average rating assigned.

Relative Importance of Factors:

The evaluation factors are listed in descending order of importance. Sub-factors within each evaluation factor are of equal importance to one another.

Factor 1 - Technical Approach and Personnel

The scope and extent to which the offeror’s proposed technical approach and personnel provides a realistic, appropriate, and high-quality solution to the requirement. In addition, the USPTO will evaluate the following elements:

• Planned operations (10 Pages): Evaluation of this sub-factor will consider the offeror's ability to demonstrate an understanding of the USPTO’s requirements (organizational plan, scheduling plan, ability to meet changing requirements and/or fluctuations in workloads), ability to respond to report requests including providing accurate documents counts and other production data, description of control and management of data and documents that will concurrently in process, and explain planned security controls and procedures that address maintaining the confidentiality of patent data.

• Workflow diagrams (not to exceed 33 Pages, one page per task listed below). The workflow diagrams must show: the offeror’s ability to depict as a sequence of operations, proposed work of a person or group (labor categories, production rates, hours, and number employees (full-time /part-time) throughout the entire work process. Note that workflow diagrams are required for each numbered item in the “Workflow Diagram Number” column.

Workflow Diagram Number Task Description

1 T1 File Maintenance (Reference Refiling, Artifacts Retrieved & Refiled)

T2 Copying mailto:Mark.Motta@uspto.gov mailto:Heather.Watroba@uspto.gov

2 T2AA Technology Center Copying (Other)

3 T2AB Office Action Images

4 T2AC PCT

T3 PCT

5 T3AA Incoming Mail

6 T3AB Outgoing Mail

7 T4 Print Working Folders

T5 Incoming Mail Processing (Open/Sort)

8 T5AA U.S. Received

9 T5AB PCT Received

10 T5AC Faxes Received

T6 Customer Service Window

11 T6AA Processing Clerk 2 Days

12 T6AB Processing Clerks 2 Nights

T7 Fee Collection/New Applications

13 T7AA U.S. Applications

14 T7AB PCT Applications

T8 Fee Collection Other Applications

15 T8AA U.S.

16 T8AB PCT

17 T8AC Refunds

T9 Formality Review (Applications)

18 T9AA Utility/Plant

19 T9AB Design

20 T9AC Direct Hague Industrial Design

21 T9AD In-Direct Hague Industrial Design

22 T9AE Provisional

T910 Formality Review (Follow-on Papers)

23 T10AA Abandonments Processing

24 T10AB Missing Parts Responses

25 T10AC Change of Address

26 T10AD Corrected Filing Receipt Request

27 T10AE Revocation/Power of Attorney Request

28 T10AF PDX Request

29 T10AG SB69/ADS Permission to Access EPO Search Results

T11 PCT National Stage

30 T11AA PCT National Stage Bib Data

31 T11AB PCT National Stage Mailing

T12 PCT International

32 T12AA PCT International Bib Data

33 T12AB PCT Printing and Mailing

• Transition plan (both transition into the contract and transition out of the contract not to exceed 5 pages): Evaluation of this sub-factor will consider the sufficiency of the offeror's ability to transition both into and out of the contract. In addition to the quality of the plan as a whole, the USPTO will consider acquisition of facilities, equipment and supplies; retention of personnel; and a risk/mitigation plan.

• Qualifications of Key Personnel (see Resume page limitations in instructions and the qualifications listed in the Key Personnel clause and Statement of Work)

Factor 2 – Quality Assurance and Management

The scope and extent to which the offeror proposes a high quality, realistic plan for assessing and ensuring the quality of work performed and the quality of the offeror’s plan for the management of resources throughout the life of the order.

Factor 3 – Scenario Questions

The scope and extent to which the vendor demonstrates a complete understanding of the requirement through the answers to the scenario-based questions.

Factor 4: Past Performance

The extent to which past performance information is submitted that is relevant to the size, nature, scope and complexity of the work described in the technical approach. The extent to which information received from the contractor is favorable, and does not contain any valid negative information.

Past performance may include information regarding performance as a subcontractor or past performance provided by subcontractors who are performing major, critical aspects of the requirement.

The USPTO reserves the right to consider CPARS ratings.

The absence of any past performance information will be evaluated as neutral.

The USPTO will utilize the following rating scale and definitions for Factors 1 through 3:

RATING SCALE for FACTORS 1 - 3

EXCELLENT

The offeror’s proposed solution exceeds specified performance or capability in a beneficial way to the Government. The response to this factor has multiple strengths in meeting the requirements and does not contain any deficiencies or significant weaknesses. Any weaknesses that exist are minor and can be easily remedied. The approach represents either no or a very low risk of unsuccessful performance under the contract.

SATISFACTORY

The offeror’s proposed solution meets the requirements. The solution may contain minor or insignificant inconsistencies or incompatibilities. The response to this factor may have strengths and may have weaknesses, but any strengths and weaknesses largely offset each other, and the factor does not contain any deficiencies and no more than one significant weakness. The approach represents a low risk of unsuccessful performance under the contract.

MARGINAL

The offeror’s proposed solution does not clearly meet one or more of the requirements.

The solution contains inconsistencies or incompatibilities. The response to this factor may have strengths, but these strengths are outweighed by weaknesses and/or significant weaknesses. The approach represents a medium risk of unsuccessful performance under the contract.

UNSATISFACTORY

The offeror’s proposed solution fails to meet one or more requirements. The solution contains numerous inconsistencies, significant weaknesses, and/or one of more deficiencies.

The response to this factor may contain strengths, however, any strengths are outweighed by the weaknesses, significant weaknesses, and/or deficiencies. The approach represents a high risk of unsuccessful performance under the contract.

Strength: An element of the proposal which exceeds a requirement in a beneficial way to the Government.

Weakness: A flaw in the proposal that increases the likelihood of unsuccessful contract performance.

Significant Weakness: A flaw in the proposal that appreciably increases the likelihood of unsuccessful contract performance.

Deficiency: A material failure of the proposal to meet a requirement or a combination of significant weaknesses that increase the likelihood of unsuccessful performance to an unacceptable level.

USPTO will utilize the following rating scale for Factor 4:

Business Proposal Evaluation

The USPTO will evaluate the total proposed price for reasonableness in accordance with FAR Part 15.404.

Adequate competition is expected, and therefore, reasonableness will be determined by comparing each offeror’s total price proposed to the total price proposed by the other offerors. Comparison will include the

RATING SCALE for FACTOR 4 Rating Description High Confidence Based on the currency, quality, and relevance of performance record, the Government has a high expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

Confidence Based on the currency, quality, and relevance of performance record, the Government has an expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

Low Confidence Based on the currency, quality, and relevance of performance record, the Government has, at most, a low expectation that the offeror will be able to successfully perform the required effort.

Neutral No current, quality, and relevant performance record is available or the offeror’s performance record is so sparse that no meaningful confidence assessment rating can be reasonably i d

Base Period and all option periods combined. Evaluation of the options shall not obligate the Government to exercise these options at any future period.

The Contracting Officer will not perform a price realism analysis.

The USPTO may utilize its independent government price estimate calculated for the requirement to help determine price reasonableness if the Contracting Officer concludes that a comparison to the IGCE is necessary to assess price reasonableness.

As part of the price evaluation, business proposals may be reviewed to identify any significant unbalanced pricing including unbalancing in the Pricing Template. In accordance with FAR 15.404-1(g), Unbalanced Pricing, a proposal may be rejected if the Contracting Officer determines the lack of balance poses an unacceptable risk to the Government.

The Contracting Officer may reject a proposal if a negative reasonableness determination is made.

As indicated earlier in the RFP, the closer the technical capabilities of the offerors’ proposals are to one another, the more important price considerations will become in determining the successful offeror.

For the purposes of price evaluation, the phrase "all option periods" in this section includes the total of the Base Period and all options but does not include a potential six-month extension of services under FAR clause 52.217-8. Half the amount proposed for the final Option Period pricing will be utilized for the evaluation of the six-month extension, but the extension will not count towards the total contract value for the purposes of assessment or the award decision. However, in the event that the USPTO wishes to invoke FAR clause 52.217- 8, during any year of the resultant contract, the rates that will be used for the extension are the rates applicable to that current year and the extension shall not exceed six months in total length.

BEST VALUE DETERMINATION

USPTO will award to the responsible vendor that represents the best value to the government. This procurement will utilize a tradeoff methodology. All non-price evaluation factors, when combined, are significantly more important than price. As two or more offerors become more closely rated, price becomes more important in the tradeoff decision. In the event that the technical evaluation panel concludes that two or more offers present equivalent solutions based on the totality of the technical evaluation, then price will become the determining factor. The tradeoff could result in an award to a vendor whose proposal is not the lowest price. The tradeoff could also result in an award to a vendor whose proposal is not the highest rated in the non-price evaluation factors.

OFFEROR EXCHANGES

The CO reserves the right to issue an award based on the initial proposal submissions and without discussions.

This means that there may not be an opportunity for offerors to address technical or price issues found following an initial technical and business review. In the event that the CO issues an award based on initial proposal submissions, then the CO will not establish a competitive range nor will offerors be afforded an ability to address significant weaknesses, or deficiencies found during review. The CO may engage in exchanges with offerors if he determines that it is in the best interest of the USPTO to do so.

12. Solicitation Provisions

FAR Clauses Incorporated by Reference

FAR 52.204-7 – SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (OCT 2018)

FAR 52.204-16 – COMMERCIAL AND GOVERNMENT ENTITY CODE REPORTING (JUL 2016)

FAR 52.204-17 – OWNERSHIP OR CONTROL OF OFFEROR (JUL 2016)

FAR 52.204-20 – PREDECESSOR OF OFFEROR (JUL 2016)

FAR 52.209-7 – INFORMATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (OCT 2018)

FAR 52.222-22 – PREVIOUS CONTRACTS AND COMPLIANCE REPORTS

FAR 52.222-24 – PREAWARD ON-SITE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMPLIANCE EVALUATION

FAR 52.222-25 – AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COMPLIANCE

FAR 52.203-18 – PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH ENTITIES THAT REQUIRE CERTAIN

INTERNAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS OR STATEMENTS--REPRESENTATION (JAN 2017)

(a) Definition. As used in this provision-- "Internal confidentiality agreement or statement", "subcontract", and "subcontractor", are defined in the clause at 52.203-19, Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements.

(b) In accordance with section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235) and its successor provisions in subsequent appropriations acts (and as extended in continuing resolutions), Government agencies are not permitted to use funds appropriated (or otherwise made available) for contracts with an entity that requires employees or subcontractors of such entity seeking to report waste, fraud, or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information.

(c) The prohibition in paragraph (b) of this provision does not contravene requirements applicable to Standard Form 312, (Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement), Form 4414 (Sensitive Compartmented Information Nondisclosure Agreement), or any other form issued by a Federal department or agency governing the nondisclosure of classified information.

(d) Representation. By submission of its offer, the Offeror represents that it will not require its employees or subcontractors to sign or comply with internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting waste, fraud, or abuse related to the performance of a Government contract to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information (e.g., agency Office of the Inspector General).

(End of provision)

FAR 52.204-17 – OWNERSHIP OR CONTROL OF OFFEROR (JUL 2016)

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision-- Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code means--

(1) An identifier assigned to entities located in the United States or its outlying areas by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Branch to identify a commercial or government entity;

or

(2) An identifier assigned by a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) to entities located outside the United States and its outlying areas that the DLA Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Branch records and maintains in the CAGE master file. This type of code is known as a NATO CAGE (NCAGE) code. Highest-level owner means the entity that owns or controls an immediate owner of the offeror, or that owns or controls one or more entities that control an immediate owner of the offeror. No entity owns or exercises control of the highest level owner.

Immediate owner means an entity, other than the offeror, that has direct control of the offeror. Indicators of control include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: Ownership or interlocking management, identity of interests among family members, shared facilities and equipment, and the common use of employees.

(b) The Offeror represents that it [--] has or [--] does not have an immediate owner. If the Offeror has more than one immediate owner (such as a joint venture), then the Offeror shall respond to paragraph (c) and if applicable, paragraph (d) of this provision for each participant in the joint venture.

(c) If the Offeror indicates has in paragraph (b) of this provision, enter the following information:

Immediate owner CAGE code:

Immediate owner legal name:

(Do not use a doing business as name) Is the immediate owner owned or controlled by another entity?:

[--] Yes or [--] No.

(d) If the Offeror indicates yes in paragraph (c) of this provision, indicating that the immediate owner is owned or controlled by another entity, then enter the following information:

Highest-level owner CAGE code:

Highest-level owner legal name:

(Do not use a doing business as name) (End of provision)

FAR 52.204-22 – ALTERNATIVE LINE ITEM PROPOSAL (JAN 2017)

(a) The Government recognizes that the line items established in this solicitation may not conform to the Offeror`s practices. Failure to correct these issues can result in difficulties in acceptance of deliverables and processing payments. Therefore, the Offeror is invited to propose alternative line items for which bids, proposals, or quotes are requested in this solicitation to ensure that the resulting contract is economically and administratively advantageous to the Government and the Offeror.

(b) The Offeror may submit one or more additional proposals with alternative line items, provided that alternative line items are consistent with subpart 4.10 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. However, acceptance of an alternative proposal is a unilateral decision made solely at the discretion of the Government. Offers that do not comply with the line items specified in this solicitation may be determined to be nonresponsive or unacceptable.

FAR 52.212-1 – INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JUN 2020)

(a) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and small business size standard. The NAICS code(s) and small business size standard(s) for this acquisition appear elsewhere in the solicitation.

However, the small business size standard for a concern which submits an offer in its own name, but which proposes to furnish an item which it did not itself manufacture, is 500 employees.

(b) Submission of offers. Submit signed and dated offers to the office specified in this solicitation at or before the exact time specified in this solicitation. Offers may be submitted on the SF 1449, letterhead stationery, or as otherwise specified in the solicitation. As a minimum, offers must show—

(1)The solicitation number;

(2)The time specified in the solicitation for receipt of offers;

(3)The name, address, and telephone number of the offeror;

(4)A technical description of the items being offered in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements in the solicitation. This may include product literature, or other documents, if necessary;

(5)Terms of any express warranty;

(6)Price and any discount terms;

(7)"Remit to" address, if different than mailing address;

(8)A completed copy of the representations and certifications at FAR 52.212-3 (see FAR 52.212-3(b) for those representations and certifications that the offeror shall complete electronically);

(9)Acknowledgment of Solicitation Amendments;

(10)Past performance information, when included as an evaluation factor, to include recent and relevant contracts for the same or similar items and other references (including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and other relevant information); and

(11)If the offer is not submitted on the SF 1449, include a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Offers that fail to furnish required representations or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration.

(c) Period for acceptance of offers. The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 30 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers, unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation.

(d) Product samples. When required by the solicitation, product samples shall be submitted at or prior to the time specified for receipt of offers. Unless otherwise specified in this solicitation, these samples shall be submitted at no expense to the Government, and returned at the sender’s request and expense, unless they are destroyed during preaward testing.

(e) Multiple offers. Offerors are encouraged to submit multiple offers presenting alternative terms and conditions, including alternative line items (provided that the alternative line items are consistent with subpart 4.10 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation), or alternative commercial items for satisfying the requirements of this solicitation. Each offer submitted will be evaluated separately.

(f)Late submissions, modifications, revisions, and withdrawals of offers. (1)Offerors are responsible for submitting offers, and any modifications, revisions, or withdrawals, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. If no time is specified in the solicitation, the time for receipt is 4:30 p.m., local time, for the designated Government office on the date that offers or revisions are due.

(2) (i)Any offer, modification, revision, or withdrawal of an offer received at the Government office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of offers is "late" and will not be considered unless it is received before award is made, the Contracting Officer determines that accepting the late offer would not unduly delay the acquisition; and- (A)If it was transmitted through an electronic commerce method authorized by the solicitation, it was received at the initial point of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m. one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of offers; or

(B)There is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the Government installation designated for receipt of offers and was under the Government’s control prior to the time set for receipt of offers; or

(C)If this solicitation is a request for proposals, it was the only proposal received.

(ii)However, a late modification of an otherwise successful offer, that makes its terms more favorable to the Government, will be considered at any time it is received and may be accepted.

(3)Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the Government installation includes the time/date stamp of that installation on the offer wrapper, other documentary evidence of receipt maintained by the installation, or oral testimony or statements of Government personnel.

(4)If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government processes so that offers cannot be received at the Government office designated for receipt of offers by the exact time specified in the solicitation, and urgent Government requirements preclude amendment of the solicitation or other notice of an extension of the closing date, the time specified for receipt of offers will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day specified in the solicitation on the first work day on which normal Government processes resume.

(5)Offers may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of offers. Oral offers in response to oral solicitations may be withdrawn orally. If the solicitation authorizes facsimile offers, offers may be withdrawn via facsimile received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of offers, subject to the conditions specified in the solicitation concerning facsimile offers. An offer may be withdrawn in person by an offeror or its authorized representative if, before the exact time set for receipt of offers, the identity of the person requesting withdrawal is established and the person signs a receipt for the offer.

(g) Contract award (not applicable to Invitation…