Search_RFP_11.4.pdf

SOLICITATION, OFFER, AND AWARD 1. THIS CONTRACT IS A RATED ORDER UNDER DPAS

(15 CFR 700)

RATING

2. CONTRACT NUMBER 3. SOLICITATION NUMBER

1333BJ20R00151003 SEALED BID (IFB)

X NEGOTIATED (RFP)

4. TYPE OF SOLICITATION 5. DATE ISSUED

11/04/2019

6. REQUISITION/PURCHASE NUMBER

163P2001557

CODE 1333BJ

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

ALEXANDRIA, VA 22313-1450

7. ISSUED BY 8. ADDRESS OFFER TO (If other than Item 7)

NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations "offer" and "offeror" mean "bid" and "bidder".

SOLICITATION

12/04/2019

(Hour) (Date) CAUTION - LATE Submissions, Modifications, and Withdrawals: See Section L, Provision No. 52.214-7 or 52.215-1. All offers are subject to all terms and conditions

9. Sealed offers in original and ____________ copies for furnishing the supplies or services in the Schedule will be received at the place specified in item 8, or if handcarried, in the depository located in ______________________________________________________ until __12:00:00______________ local time _________________

10. FOR

INFORMATION

CALL:

A. NAME

Mark Motta, Contract Specialist

AREA CODE

NUMBER

270-0828

EXT.

B. TELEPHONE (NO COLLECT CALLS) C. E-MAIL ADDRESS

mark.motta@uspto.gov

11. TABLE OF CONTENTS

(X) SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S) (X) SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S)

PART I - SCHEDULE PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSES

X A SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM 4 X I CONTRACT CLAUSES 26-55

X B SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS 5-8 PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACH

X C DESCRIPTION/SPECS./WORK STATEMENT 9-17 X J LIST OF ATTACHMENTS 56

X D PACKAGING AND MARKING 18 PART IV - REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

X E INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE 19

X K REPRESENTATIONS CERTIFICATIONS AND OTHER

STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

57-76

X F DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE 20

X L INSTRS., CONDS., AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS 77-83X G CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA 21-23

X M EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD 84-87X H SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS 24

OFFER (Must be fully completed by offeror)

NOTE: Item 12 does not apply if the solicitation includes the provisions at 52.214-16, Minimum Bid Acceptance Period.

In compliance with the above, the undersigned agrees, if this offer is accepted within _______________________ calendar days (60 calendar days unless a different period is inserted by the offeror) from the date for receipt of offers specified above, to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price set opposite each item, delivered at the designated point(s), within the time specified in the schedule.

12.

13. DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT (See Section 1, Clause No. 52.232-8)

10 CALENDAR DAYS(%)

0.00 %

20 CALENDAR DAYS(%)

0.00 %

30 CALENDAR DAYS(%)

0.00 %

CALENDAR DAYS

NUMBER

PERCENTAGE

0.00

14. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF AMENDMENTS (The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the SOLICITATION for offerors and related documents numbered and dated):

AMENDMENT NO. DATE AMENDMENT NO. DATE

15A. NAME AND

ADDRESS OF

OFFEROR

CODE FACILITY 16. NAME AND TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN

OFFER (Type or Print)

15B. TELEPHONE NUMBER

AREA CODE NUMBER EXT.

15C. CHECK IF REMITTANCE ADDRESS IS

DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE - ENTER SUCH

ADDRESS IN SCHEDULE.

17. SIGNATURE 18. OFFER DATE

AWARD (To be completed by Government)

19. ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS NUMBERED 20. AMOUNT 21. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION

10 U.S.C. 2304(c) ( ) 41 U.S.C. 253(c) ( )

22. AUTHORITY FOR USING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION: 23. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN (4 copies unless otherwise specified)

ITEM

CODE PROC8825

Office of Procurement US Patent and Trademark Office Attn: MS 6, Office of Procurement P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, VA 22313-1450

24. ADMINISTERED BY (if other than Item 7) CODE FINANCE1

OFFICE OF FINANCE

Dir. US Patent & Trademark Ofc PO Box 1450 Mail Stop 17 Alexandria, VA 22313

25. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

26. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print) 27. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 28. DATE

IMPORTANT - Award will be made on this Form, or on Standard Form 26, or by other authorized official written notice.

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION

Previous edition is unusable

STANDARD FORM 33 (REV. 9-97)

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.214(c)

NAICS: 519190 Size Standard: $30M Competitive 8(a) set-aside

Page1 of 628

United States Patent and Trademark Office

SEARCH SERVICES

11/04/2019

Table of Contents

A Solicitation/Contract Form B Pricing Schedule C Performance Work Statement D Packing and Marking E Inspection and Acceptance F Deliveries or Performance G Contract Administration Data H Special Contract Requirements I Contract Clauses J List of Attachments K Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors M Evaluation…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...84

RFP Attachments……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 88

Past Performance Questionnaire

Section A – Solicitation/Contract Form

See cover page.

SECTION B –SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS

The Government contemplates awarding a single 8(a) firm-fixed-price contract as a result of this solicitation. This award will consist of a base year and four (4) one (1) year options.

B.1 Period of Performance

Base Year (CLINs 0001-0004) May16, 2020 – May15, 2021

Option Year 1 (CLINs 1001-1003) May 16, 2021 – May 15, 2022

Option Year 2 (CLINs 2001-2003) May 16, 2022 – May 15, 2023

Option Year 3 (CLINs 3001-3003) May 16, 2023 – May 15, 2024

Option Year 4 (CLINs 4001-4004) May 16, 2024 – May 15, 2025

B.2 Schedule of Prices

(a) The Government’s estimated volumes (estimates are provided to provide transparency so that offerors are aware of what the anticipated volumes are) and maximum volumes (not to exceed amount) are provided. The following tables specify the maximum obligation of the Government.

CLIN Base Year

Description by Search Type

Estimated

Volumes

Maximum

Volumes Unit Fixed Unit Price

Total Not to Exceed

Amount

0001 ABSS 6,500 7,800 each

0002 Structure 2,650 3,300 each

0003 Text 5,300 6,625 each

0004 Transition In

Total Base Year (CLINs 0001 – 0004)

CLIN Option Year 1

Description by Search Type

Estimated

Volumes

Maximum

Volumes Unit Fixed Unit Price

Total Not to Exceed

Amount

1001 ABSS 6,500 7,800 each

1002 Structure 2,650 3,300 each

1003 Text 5,300 6,625 each

1004 Transition Out

Total Base Year (CLINs 1001 – 1003)

CLIN Option Year 2

Description by Search Type

Estimated

Volumes

Maximum

Volumes Unit Fixed Unit Price

Total Not to Exceed

Amount

2001 ABSS 6,500 7,800 each

2002 Structure 2,650 3,300 each

2003 Text 5.300 6,625 each

2004 Transition Out

Total Base Year (CLINs 2001 – 2003)

CLIN Option Year 3

Description by Search Type

Estimated

Volumes

Maximum

Volumes Unit Fixed Unit Price

Total Not to Exceed

Amount

3001 ABSS 6,500 7,800 each

3002 Structure 2,650 3,300 each

3003 Text 5,300 6,625 each

3004 Transition Out

Total Base Year (CLINs 3001 – 3003)

CLIN Option Year 4

Description by Search Type

Estimated

Volumes

Maximum

Volumes Unit Fixed Unit Price

Total Not to Exceed

Amount

4001 ABSS 6,500 7,800 each

4002 Structure 2,650 3,300 each

4003 Text 5,300 6,625 each

4004 Transition Out

Total Base Year (CLINs 4001 – 4004)

Notes:

(a) All volumes and unit pricing is based on a per search request basis. Specifically, a single search request may request multiple embodiments (i.e., multiple claims, sequences, etc. be searched). A second search request submitted subsequently to the posting of the results of a first search request would constitute a separate unit.

(b) CLIN 0001, 0002, 0003 and if options are exercised, CLIN 1001, 1002, 1003, 2001, 2002, 2003, 3001, 3002, 3003, 4001, 4002, and 4003: The estimated volumes for the search types, i.e. ABSS, Structure, and Text, are based on actual

Contractor searches performed during FY18. See Attachment 1. These estimated volumes are subject to change. The

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will notify the Contractor of any changes that will affect the estimated volumes during the course of this contract as the USPTO becomes aware of these changes. For a historical breakdown of text search types by Technology Center (TC) requestor for Fiscal year (FY) 2016 through FY2018. See

Attachment 2.

(c) CLIN 0002, and if options are exercised, CLINs 1002, 2002, 3002, and 4002: Structure Search will be used solely when any structure search is conducted, including any search that includes both structure and text searching.

(d) CLIN 0004 (Transition-In) and if Option is exercised, CLIN 4004 (Transition Out): If Offeror does not intend to charge the USPTO, enter “NSP” under the “Fixed Unit Price” column of each specified Period of Performance. For transition-in period, please see Section B.3(b).

(e) Contract-level program management support costs are deemed indirect costs, and are therefore included in the total hourly labor rates for each search type, and encompass support for contract-level management, reporting requirements and related travel and meeting attendance costs associated with the Contractor’s program management staff, as it relates to overall management of the Patent Search program. See Section H.

B.3 Workload Assignments

(a) The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will typically assign search requests to the Contractor on a daily basis. A Contracting Officer Representative or Government Point of Contact (POC) will assign the search requests to a designation single point of contact, i.e. Project Manager, etc. The Contractor shall then distribute the work to their staff for completion of the requirements. The daily workload may vary based on the amount of search request source documents received by the Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC). Additionally, the total search requests received on a daily, weekly and monthly basis may vary based on the amount of search request source documents received by STIC. See Attachment 1 for a historical volumes of STIC Contractor-processed search requests on a weekly basis during FY18.

(b) For the Base Period, the USPTO may employ a “ramp-up or transition-in” period that will entail a rigorous quality review of the Contractor’s deliverables by the USPTO. The “ramp-up or transition-in” period will consist of up to 50% of the typical daily workload. The “ramp-up or transition-in” period will last until the Contractor has demonstrated, to the USPTO, that the final deliverables being delivered meet the USPTO quality standards set forth within Attachment

7 as described in in Section E. It is envisioned that this period may last up to 45 days but may be extended at the

USPTO’s option.

B.4 Performance Based Price Adjustments

(a) Price adjustments are designed to assure timely delivery of all final accepted deliverables. As directed by the Government, the Contractor will have a specified period of time to provide the necessary final deliverable. The final deliverables are set forth in Section C.4.1.4. All final deliverables will be accepted in accordance with the review criteria set forth in Section C.4.1.4. Timeliness must be recognized as a vital requirement of this contract.

B.4.1 Determination of Timeliness

The Contractor will be provided with source documents, hereafter referred to as search requests. For ABSS searches, the Contractor will have a maximum of three (3) business days to prepare and deliver the final deliverables, acceptable in accordance with Section C.4.1.4.1, to the USPTO for each assigned search request. For structure and text search requests, the Contractor will have a maximum of five (5) business days to prepare and deliver the final deliverables, acceptable in accordance with sections C.4.1.4.2 through C.4.1.4.3, to the USPTO for each assigned search request. The timeliness period commences on the next business day following the notification of assignment. The timeliness period will include any day (or any portion of a day which will be counted as a whole day) that the USPTO has not been notified that the final deliverable is ready and is posted to the specified location, such as on STIC’s SharePoint website. After the USPTO confirms that the final deliverable has been posted and determines that the final deliverables are acceptable in accordance with section C.4.1.4, the number of days late will be calculated based on the days used by the Contractor to prepare and deliver the final acceptable deliverable compared to the allowed time period maximum for that CLIN. The USPTO will perform up to 100% inspection for compliance with the timeliness for each search results deliverable package.

The following chart summarizes the timeliness requirements set forth in this section:

CLIN (Search Type) Timeliness Requirement

ABSS 3 business days

Structure 5 business days

Text 5 business days

B.4.2 Timeliness Performance Based Price Adjustments Calculation

(a) The Government will review the Contractor’s timeliness compliance for each deliverable and notify the

Contractor of those deliverables which are subject to a reduced invoicing pricing.

(b) Prices listed in the Offeror’s proposal and subsequently incorporated via contract award will be subject to the following timeliness performance based adjustments:

**Contractor performance at this level may lead to non-assignment of work, non-exercise of an option period, termination for default.

B.5 Contractor Initiated Price Reduction

(a) It is anticipated that the Contractor’s cost may decrease during the contract term due to increased efficiencies, more efficient use of technology, and improved risk management based on enhanced understanding of the USPTO’s requirements. At any time during the contract performance, the Contractor may submit a proposal to reduce its contract unit pricing. The USPTO will review the proposal for price reasonableness and may request supporting documentation, if appropriate. If the USPTO determines that the proposed reduced pricing is realistic, the parties will execute a

Timeliness Disincentive

When the final deliverable is received N business days late.

The following unit price adjustment will be applied to the unit price for each effected deliverable.

N= 1-2 days 10% reduction of the CLIN price for each untimely deliverable

N= 3-4 days 20% reduction of the CLIN price for each untimely deliverable

N= 5-7 days 30% reduction of the CLIN price for each untimely deliverable **

N= More than 7 days 50% reduction of the CLIN price for each untimely deliverable ** bilateral modification implementing the reduced price. If the Contractor wishes to have reduced prices considered in the USPTO’s determination to exercise or not exercise a contract option, the Contractor shall submit its reduced pricing proposal at least 90 days before the expiration of the current period of contract performance, as applicable.

SECTION C – DESCRIPTION/PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

C.1 General

(a) This Performance Work Statement (PWS) describes USPTO’s requirement for Search Services in support of the

Office of the Commissioner for Patents.

C.2 Background

(a) The vision of leading the Nation and the world in intellectual property (IP) protection and policy is driving the

USPTO toward the ideal patent and trademark systems for our country and the global economy. The mission of the

USPTO is:

“Fostering innovation, competitiveness and economic growth, domestically and abroad by delivering high quality and timely examination of patent and trademark applications, guiding domestic and international intellectual property policy, and delivering intellectual property information and education worldwide, with a highly-skilled, diverse workforce.”

(b) The primary services the agency provides to its stakeholders is processing and disseminating patent and trademark information as described below.

Through the issuance of patents, the USPTO encourages technological advancement by providing incentives to invent, invest in, and disclose new technology worldwide.

Through the registration of trademarks, the agency assists businesses in protecting their investments, promoting goods and services, and safeguarding consumers against confusion and deception in the marketplace.

(c) The examination of patent applications results in the need for prior art searching support. The USPTO currently utilizes a Contractor to assist with prior art searching support.

(d) The USPTO is an organization of approximately 13,000 employees, broken out into specific business units.

Thosebusiness units include Patents, Trademarks, the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, the Office of the

Chief Communication Officer, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the Office of the Chief Financial

Officer, The Office of Equal Employment and Diversity, the Office of General Counsel, the Ombudsman Office, the Office of Policy and International Affairs, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the Trademark Trial and

Appeal Board.

(e) The largest of the USPTO business units is the Patents organization. The USPTO’s patent examiners review patent applications and grant patents.

(f) The Patent organizational structure is based on Technology Center (TCs) specializing in major technology categories. Each TC is comprised of Workgroups and each Workgroup is subdivided into Arts Units. Art Unit examiners specialize in specific subsets of technologies, which is referred to as the “art” that they examine. There are approximately 7,900 examiners distributed among nine (9) patent technology centers. The patent examiners are collectively referred to as the Patent Examining Corps.

(g) To appropriately perform the process of examination of patent applications, patent examiners require technology specific information dated earlier than the effective filing date of the patent application. Pre-application dated information, in this context, is referred to as “prior art”. Prior art can include United States (US) patents, foreign patents and related materials, and non-patent literature (NPL), which can be legal materials, journal articles, standards, manuals, books, conference proceedings, films, videos, images, web pages and the like. USPTO’s information need differ from the information needs of many other organizations served by technologically-oriented libraries that typically identify the most recent “state of the art” technology.

(h) An overview of the technologies of the various TCs can be found at https://www.uspto.gov/patent/contact-patents/patent-technology-centers-management. The Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC) is currently https://www.uspto.gov/patent/contact-patents/patent-technology-centers-management https://www.uspto.gov/patent/contact-patents/patent-technology-centers-management divided into seven (7) Electronic Information Centers (EICs) which corresponds to the specific technologies that supports Patents.

(i) To assist the examiners in their process of examination, the USPTO created the STIC. The STIC provides a variety of services including supplemental searching. STIC has the ability to search in a wide variety of internal sources, journals, books, commercial databases, catalogs of databases, and sequence sources. A sample list of available sources can be accessed through https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/support-centers/scientific-and-technical-information-center-stic/prior-art. See Attachment 3 for a sample listing of databases and search resources available as of June 2019. The STIC currently has access to 146 databases, including both internal and commercially available external databases, as sources to search for and identify prior art for the widely varied technologies covered by the TCs.

C.3 Objective

(a) The USPTO, Office of the Commissioner for Patents, has a requirement for performing search services for bio-sequences, chemical structures, and general text search services in order to meet the USPTO mission, which is the examination, granting and dissemination of Patents.

(b) The objective of this requirement is to provide the USPTO and its customers with Search Services. A complete understanding of these requirements can only be achieved by thoroughly reviewing this PWS as well as all references and attachments provided in Section J.

(c) The USPTO seeks a highly-qualified team with the technical capabilities and willingness to bring innovative concepts/methodologies and industry best practices to support of the USPTO’s patent examination process.

C.4 Requirement

(a) This section will delineate the requirement for Search Services.

C.4.1 Perform Search Services

(a) This section will provide information relating to the process of examination of patent applications for the requirement of this contract for USPTO. The Contractor shall furnish all necessary personnel, materials and services

(except as otherwise provided or specified), to perform the following requirement either on site at the USPTO facilities or at a USPTO approved alternate worksite. The Government has limited space for those Contractor staff who would need to periodically perform work at the Government site.The coordination of the use of the Government space has to be requested through the Contracting Officer Representative (COR).

(b) The USPTO will provide access to all systems and databases as necessary to support the requirements of this contract. The Contractor shall support USPTO by providing expert search services to increase the efficiency and quality of the patent processes.

(c) The Contractor shall perform the following types of searches to support the patent examination process: Automated

Biotechnology Sequence Search (ABSS)/Sequence Searches, Chemical Structure Searches, and General Text-Based

Searches.

(d) The Contractor searchers shall be knowledgeable and proficient with Boolean logic, proximity and syntactical search functions to search existing databases (commercially available databases and existing in-house databases (see https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/support-centers/scientific-and-technical-information-center-stic/prior-art)) in order to find relevant non-patent literature and foreign patents.

(e) The Contractor searchers shall be knowledgeable about information sources including in-house and external electronic resources and print reference tools, such as but not limited to, textbooks, manuals, abstracts, dictionaries, encyclopedias and standards. In-house resources include, but are not limited to USPTO Automated Information

Services (AIS) tools which examiners use daily to perform their work. Current examples of these tools are: Patent

Application Location and Monitoring (PALM)/Central Enterprise Data Repository (CEDR); Patents-End-To-End

Docket Application Viewer (PE2E DAV); Examiner’s Automated Search Tool (EAST); Web-based Examiner Search https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/support-centers/scientific-and-technical-information-center-stic/prior-art https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/support-centers/scientific-and-technical-information-center-stic/prior-art https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/support-centers/scientific-and-technical-information-center-stic/prior-art) https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/support-centers/scientific-and-technical-information-center-stic/prior-art)

Tool (WEST); STIC Online Catalog (SOLC), the STIC NPL website, as well as other relevant prosecution tools within the Patent Examiners Toolkit. Documentation and brief overviews may be provided prior to contract start on these in-house resource/tools will be provided by STIC management or delegated personnel. It is expected that the brief overview sessions will be no more than one day in length. Additionally, there are Computer Based Training (CBTs) for

EAST and WEST search tools available on the USPTO’s web site (see https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/support-centers/public-search-facility/public-search-facility#heading-3). The Contractor shall identify and select appropriate electronic and print resources, including selecting from available in-house and vendor databases. The

Contractor shall be proficient in their knowledge of the in-house and external database search commands and subject specific protocol (e.g., chemical structures, DNA sequence or classification schemes).

(f) The Contractor shall be responsive to database and resource changes and evolution when developing, formulating, and executing search strategies in order to efficiently target the relevant prior art to meet the requirements of the search request. The Contractor shall apply technical search knowledge in all technology areas and subject area expertise to the search function as this is imperative for building a foundation of effective strategies and search techniques to address the overall information.

(g) The USPTO provided search databases are subject to change and the Government will provide notification to the contractor when a change has or will occur in a search database. The USPTO will not hold any non-compliance errors for any deficiency found during inspection until 30 days after the notification of a change in the database has been issued to the Contractor.

(h) Search requests are submitted by examiners and other USPTO staff via e-mail or through STIC’s website. The content of the search requests include instructions on the type of search to be conducted, the context and breadth of the search to be conducted, and include supporting documentation, claims or other parts of a patent application and, if available/appropriate, details of prior search conducted by the requestor/examiner (only applicable for text searches).

The COR or Government POC will assign the searches to be performed under these requirements to the Contractor.

Typically, this will be a single notification every business day. The Contractor shall complete the search set forth in the search request and post the final deliverable within the set period. The final deliverable shall consist of the Contractor’s search history, examiner interview notes (if any), the list of the search results (wherein the most relevant prior art references are listed first) with the abstract and any appropriate annotations pertinent to describe why the references are relevant to the search requested, i.e. sections of the prior art text or graphic results that are useful in identifying the searched features/limitations, and a list of patent family documents for the foreign patent references in the search results. The final deliverable will be in PDF format (or other equivalent format as determined by the USPTO) and have a naming convention to be determined by the USPTO.

C.4.1.1 ABSS/Sequence Searching (CLIN 0001, and if options are exercised, CLINs 1001, 2001, 3001, and 4001)

(a) The ABSS system is utilized to sustain the USPTO's business function of performing prior-art searches of bio-sequences disclosed in patent applications and examined primarily by TC 1600 (Biotechnology). ABSS is an in-house, LAN-based system designed to search electronic sequence listing data submitted in patent applications, and supports searching of molecular sequences using data stored from both applicant submissions and commercial databases of published sequence information.

(b) Through ABSS the following databases can currently be searched: GenEMBL (nucleic acids), N-Genseq

(nucleic acids), Issued_Patents_NA (nucleic acids), EST (nucleic acids), Published_Applications_NA (nucleic acids), A-Geneseq (proteins), UniPort (proteins), PIR (proteins), Published_Applications_AA (proteins), and

Issued_AA (proteins).

(c) For context, standard sequence searches (full sequence protein vs. protein, nucleic acid vs. nucleic acid, protein vs. nucleic acid, and nucleic acid v. protein) are typically entered by the examiner through an electronic portal and do not require any STIC handling to fulfill the request. These standard searches are not within the scope of the present requirements. Non-standard sequence searches, which are also known as specialized, ABSS searches are requested by the examiners through an e-mail to STIC or through STIC’s website. These requests can include fragment, substitution, and fusion searches. See Attachment 4 “Sequence Search

Samples” for samples of non-standard ABSS search requests”. Conducting ABSS searches requires following the instructions on the search request. These specialized sequence searches are within the scope of this contract. The Contractor shall conduct a search on the requested specialized search in the appropriate ABSS databases and provide the results of that search to the Government. The final deliverable shall include all of the items noted above and should additionally include the percentage match of any sequences searched with each relevant prior art document included. In addition to delivering the search results, the Contractor shall enter needed data into a STIC Access Database or equivalent, such as searcher’s name and databases searched.

C.4.1.2. Structure (Chemical) Searching (CLIN 0002, and if options are exercised, CLINs 1002, 2002, 3002, and 4002)

(a) The Contractor shall perform chemical structure searches, to sustain the USPTO's business function of performing prior-art searches of chemical structures present in patent applications, examined primarily by TCs

1600 and 1700. Structure search requests may be limited solely to a chemical structure(s) or may be a combination of text with a chemical structure(s). See Attachment 5 “Structure Search Sample” for examples of chemical structure search requests. The Contractor shall perform a chemical structure search on the requested chemical structures using the appropriate search database(s). The Contractor search shall include the appropriate sources of prior art including US patents, foreign patents and related materials, and non-patent literature (NPL), which can be legal materials, journal articles, standards, manuals, books, conference proceedings, films, videos, images, web pages, and any other disclosure relevant to the context and breadth of the search request. For example, Scientific and Technical Information Network/Chemical Abstract Services

(STN/CAS) structure searching may be used for small molecules and polymer structure searches. The

Contractor shall document the search performed including the search strings used and the tools/databases searched in their search history. The Contractor shall deliver this documentation electronically to the

Government as part of their final deliverable including the items noted above in the Search Requirements section. In addition to delivering the search results, the Contractor shall enter needed data into a STIC Access

Database or equivalent, such as searcher’s name and databases searched.

C.4.1.3 Text (General) Searching (CLIN 0003, and if options are exercised, CLINs 1003, 2003, 3003, and 4003)

(a) The Contractor shall perform general searches to supplement searches performed by the examiner during the process of examination of patent applications in all TCs. The Government will assign the search request containing the context and breadth of the search to be performed and, if available, a search history of a search performed by the requestor. The Contractor shall select the appropriate databases to be searched based on the technology and context and breadth of the search requested. The Contractor shall conduct a search to identify and locate the prior art that meets the context and breadth of the request. The search shall include the identification of appropriate sources of prior art including foreign patents and related materials, and non-patent literature (NPL), which can be legal materials, journal articles, standards, manuals, books, conference proceedings, films, videos, images, web pages, and any other disclosure relevant to the context and breadth of the search request. The context and breadth of the search requests may vary from those containing very specific descriptions with a narrow focus to those containing a general description with a general state of the art being requested to be searched. See Attachment 6 “Text Search Samples” for examples of text (general) search requests with search results.

(b) The Contractor shall document the search they performed including the search strings used and the tools/databases searched in their search history. The Contractor shall deliver this documentation electronically to the Government along as a final deliverable, which includes the items noted above in the Search

Requirements section. In addition to delivering the search results, the Contractor shall enter needed data into a

STIC Access Database or equivalent, such as searcher’s name and databases searched.

C.4.1.4 Review Criteria and Acceptance

(a) The Government will review the Contractor provided final deliverables to determine whether the

Contractor’s deliverables meet the specified quality metrics. See Attachment 7 “Quality Metrics”. The quality metrics will be measured by random search evaluations as defined in the QASP. These evaluations will include a Government search expert reviewing the final deliverables to determine whether the context and breadth of the Contractor’s search was appropriate, whether the field of search (i.e. the database(s) searched) was appropriate, whether the most relevant search results (prior art) were provided, and whether the examiner interview notes (if any) are appropriate. The Government will track compliance rates on a monthly and yearly basis and provide feedback to the Contractor.

C.4.1.4.1 ABSS Searching Review Criteria

(a) There are two (2) metrics associated with ABSS search result deliverables. A level 1 error for ABSS will be assessed when (1) the Contractor failed to perform a search commensurate with the context and breadth of the search request (i.e., where the correct fragments, substitutions, and fusions were not searched); and (2) the most relevant prior art was not included in the search results and the

Government reviewer found relevant prior art that reasonably should have been found based on the search request and examiner interview notes (if any). The latter errors may result from a data source being missed by the Contractor, the Contractor performing an overly narrow search, or the Contractor failing to appreciate the relevance of a reference which was identified in their search. Only one (1)

ABSS level 1 error will be assessed per ABSS search reviewed. The ABSS level 1 error rate will be expressed as a percent and will be calculated as follows:

E1ABSS = (the number of ABSS searches reviewed which contained a level 1 ABSS error / the total number of ABSS searches reviewed) * 100. The Contractor shall maintain an ABSS level 1 compliance rate of at least 98%.

(b) A level 2 error for ABSS will be assessed when (1) the context and breadth of the Contractor’s search was clearly not commensurate with the search request and the Government review did not find more relevant prior art than the prior art provided by the Contractor (i.e., a requested sequence fragment was not searched); (2) the field of search missed appropriate sources but the Government review did not find more relevant prior art than the prior art provided by the Contractor; (3) when the annotation of the search results was insufficient to effectively set forth why the prior art is deemed relevant to the context and breadth of the search request; (4) when the Contractor’s examiner interview notes (if any) fail to define the context and relational aspects of the search which render the search results inappropriate; (5) and when the data required to be entered into the STIC Access

Database (or equivalent) is missing or incorrect. Only one (1) ABSS level 2 error will be assessed per

ABSS search reviewed. The ABSS level 2 error rate will be expressed as a percent and will be calculated as follows:

E2ABSS = (the number of ABSS searches reviewed which contained a level 2 ABSS error / the total number of ABSS searches reviewed) * 100. The Contractor shall maintain an ABSS level 2 compliance rate of at least 90%.

c. Actual monthly and/or yearly compliance rates for level 1 and/or level 2 review criterion outside of the required compliance rates set forth herein may result in the Contractor being required to submit an updated Quality Control Plan (QCP), non-assignment of work, non-renewal of contract option periods, or termination of the contract.

C.4.1.4.2 Chemical Structure Searching Review Criteria

(a). There are two (2) metrics associated with structure search result deliverables. A level 1 error for structure searches will be assessed when (1) the Contractor failed to perform a search commensurate with the context and breadth of the search request (i.e. were the correct molecule(s), polymer(s), etc.

not searched following the editorial rules of the database; was any requested text terms/concepts appropriately incorporated into the search strategy; etc.); and (2) the most relevant prior art was not included in the search results and the Government reviewer found relevant prior art that reasonably should have been found based on the search request and examiner interview notes (if any). The latter errors may result from a data source being missed by the Contractor, the Contractor performing an overly narrow search, or the Contractor failing to appreciate the relevance of a reference which was identified in their search. Only one (1) structure level 1 error will be assessed per structure search reviewed. The structure level 1 error rate will be expressed as a percent and will be calculated as follows:

E1struct = (the number of structure searches reviewed which contained a level 1 structure error/the total number of structure searches reviewed) * 100. The Contractor shall maintain a chemical structure level 1 compliance rate of at least 95%.

(b) A level 2 error for structure searches will be assessed when (1) the context and breadth of the

Contractor’s search was not appropriate and the Government review did not find more relevant prior art than the prior art provided by the Contractor (i.e, the search was too narrow or the requested structure was not searched following the editorial rules of the database); (2) the field of search missed appropriate sources but the Government review did not find more relevant prior art than the prior art provided by the Contractor; (3) when the annotation of the search results was insufficient to effectively describe why the prior art is deemed relevant to the context and breadth of the search request; (4) when the Contractor’s examiner interview notes (if any) fail to define the context and breadth of the search which render the search results inappropriate; and (5) when the data required to be entered into the STIC Access Database (or equivalent) is missing or incorrect. Only one (1) structure level 2 error will be assessed per structure search reviewed. The structure level 2 error rate will be expressed as a percent and will be calculated as follows:

E2struct = (the number of structure searches reviewed which contained a level 2 error / the total number of structure searches reviewed) * 100. The Contractor shall maintain a chemical structure level 2 compliance rate of at least 90%.

c. Actual monthly and/or yearly compliance rates for level 1 and/or level 2 review criterion outside of the required compliance rates set forth herein may result in the Contractor being required to submit an updated QCP, non-assignment of work, non-renewal of contract option periods, or termination of the contract.

C.4.1.4.3 Text General Searching Review Criteria

(a) There are two (2) metrics associated with Text search result deliverables. A level 1 error for text searches will be assessed the most relevant prior art was not included in the search results and the

Government reviewer found relevant prior art that reasonably should have been found based on the search request and examiner interview notes (if any). The latter errors may result from a data source being missed by the Contractor, the Contractor performing an overly narrow search, or the Contractor failing to appreciate the relevance of a reference which was identified in their search. Only one (1) text level 1 error will be assessed per text search reviewed. The text level 1 error rate will be expressed as a percent and will be calculated as follows:

E1text = (the number of text searches reviewed which contained a level 1 text error / the total number of text searches reviewed) * 100. The Contractor shall maintain a text level 1 compliance rate of at least 95%.

(b) A level 2 error for text searches will be assessed when (1) the context and breadth of the

Contractor’s search was not appropriate and the Government review did not find more relevant prior art than the prior art provided by the Contractor (i.e., inappropriate search terms used, incorrect search syntax, inappropriate Boolean strings, and failure to use appropriate synonyms); (2) the field of search missed appropriate sources but the Government review did not find more relevant prior art than the prior art provided by the Contractor; (3) when the annotation of the search results was insufficient to effectively describe why the prior art is deemed relevant to the context and breadth of the search request; (4) when the Contractor’s examiner interview notes (if any) fail to define the context and breadth of the search which render the search results inappropriate; and (5) when the data required to be entered into the STIC Access Database (or equivalent) is missing or incorrect. Only one (1) text level 2 error will be assessed per text search reviewed. The text level 2 error rate will be expressed as a percent and will be calculated as follows:

E2text = (the number of text searches reviewed which contained a text level 2 error / the total number of Text searches reviewed) * 100. The Contractor shall maintain a text level 2 compliance rate of at least 90%.

(c) Actual monthly and/or yearly compliance rates for level 1 and/or level 2 review criterion outside of the required compliance rates set forth herein may result in the Contractor being required to submit an updated QCP, non-assignment of work, non-renewal of contract option periods, or termination of the contract.

C.4.2 Rebuttal

(a) The Contractor shall have the opportunity to rebut, at their option, any deliverable deemed to be non-complaint within one (1) week of written notification of non-compliance. Any deliverable determined to be in non-compliance by the USPTO may be rebutted a single time by the Contractor by submitting a written statement specifying the reasons for disagreement to the COR. Any rebuttal submitted after one (1) week will be deemed untimely and may not be considered by the USPTO. The COR will notify the Contractor of the USPTO’s final decision on any rebuttal usually within one (1) week of the Contractor’s rebuttal submission.

C.4.3 Deliverables

(a) Deliverables shall be received by the COR named in Section G “Contract Administration Data” and in accordance with the Government’s QASP. Acceptance of all submitted deliverables will be formally communicated to the

Contractor in writing from the COR. The final deliverables will be sampled for each month for all search types, i.e.

ABSS, structure, and text. It is anticipated that the quality review process will take up to approximately two (2) weeks to complete from the end of the previous month. The Government will notify the Contractor in writing upon completion of the review process of any deliverable that was deemed to be non-compliant. See Sections C.4.1.4.1 through C.4.1.4.3. All notifications of non-compliance will be accompanied by a justification or substantiation of the reason(s) for error.

C.4.4 Transition

C.4.4.1 Transition – In (CLIN 0004)

(a) The Contractor is responsible for the successful transition-in of the requirements under this effort.

(1) The Contractor shall develop and implement the detailed transition strategies and processes needed to enable an efficient transfer of products and services from the incumbent service provider to the level of service required under this contract without disruption to ongoing contract support levels.

(2) The Contractor shall develop and implement detailed transition strategies and processes needed to maintain continuity of operations and quality of service during the transition-in period.

(3) The Contractor shall deliver a Transition Plan which must include the schedule and milestones that indicate how the Contractor plans to migrate all existing services from the current provider(s), add new services, while minimizing operational and project impacts. The Transition Plan shall include project start up and staffing ramp up approach, a mobilization schedule, and a schedule of critical events and milestones that are to commence upon award. The Transition Plan shall include the plans for migrating assets, data, and services. The Contractor shall incorporate termination dates of existing Contractor performance periods and

USPTO planned major project dates. For planning purposes, the overall transition period shall not exceed 45 calendar days. Transition of operational capabilities is to be completed within 45 calendar days.

(4) The Contractor shall provide the ability to recruit, assign, and manage the staff and resources in a quick and efficient manner to meet the transition requirements, schedule, and milestones.

C.4.4.2 Transition – Out (CLIN 4004)

(a) The Contractor is responsible for the successful transition out of the requirements under this effort.

(1) The Contractor must develop a Transition-Out Plan that describes a transition out strategy, and identifies transition data and information, systems, components, documentation, functionality, services, service dependencies, services interfaces, risks, transition work activities, schedule, staffing down approach, knowledge transfer, and any other information that needs to be considered to ensure a smooth transition.

(b) The Contractor must deliver the Transition-Out Plan within 20 business days from the USPTO request.

(c) The Contractor must provide an inventory of all operational, engineering, procedural, educational, and any other documentation and presentations produced as part of delivering services upon the USPTO request.

(d) The Contractor must continue to fulfill the current contractual requirement(s) and continue all current work in progress until the successor contractor assumes full operational responsibility. The Contractor must not destroy, delete, or otherwise dispose of any files or data upon expiration or termination of the contract, without prior permission from the COR.

(e) The Contractor must permit the successor contractor (and the successor contractor’s employees) to observe and become familiar with any and all operations specified in this contract for a minimum of 30 calendar days, or for a COR specified timeframe, prior to the expiration or termination of the existing contract.

(f) The Contractor must fully cooperate with the successor contractor and the Government during transition out so as not to interfere with their work or duties.

(g) The Contractor must fully support all USPTO requests for information and data required to ensure a seamless transition of services to a new contractor.

(h) The Contractor must deliver to the USPTO electronic copies of all USPTO data and information stored in Contractor’s systems in the format requested by the USPTO within 30 calendar days from the USPTO request.

C.5 Quality Control Plan

(a) The Contractor shall maintain a Quality Control Plan (QCP) to ensure that the deliverables meet the quality requirements set forth in this contract. A QCP is the documentation of the Contractor’s process for delivering the level of quality required by the contract. This document is intended to provide guidance to Contractors as to what is expected from QCPs, and what the criteria for accepting and using the requirements for these plans will be. The QCP is the

Contractor’s framework for documenting its process for managing and delivering quality work products to the

Government. The QCP defines the Contactor’s planned approach to successfully achieve the expected results or outcome as outlined in Section C. The QCP outlines how those results will be achieved. While it is not possible to determine from the QCP whether the level of quality will be acceptable, it is possible to verify that the Contractor, as an organization, has addressed the basic elements of its quality control process. The Contractor shall make the QCP available to the CO, COR and Government POC upon request.

(b) The Contractor's work will be reviewed and inspected to ensure quality standards specified in Section C.4.1.4 of the contract by the COR, who has final approval and acceptance, in accordance with the Government’s quality assurance surveillance plan (QASP).

C.5.1 Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)

(a) The Contractor's work will be reviewed and inspected by the USPTO COR, who has final approval and acceptance, in accordance with the Government’s QASP, provided as Attachment 7 in Section J.

SECTION D – PACKING AND MARKING

Deliverables should be submitted to the COR unless otherwise indicated.

SECTION E – INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

(a) All deliverables will be inspected, reviewed and accepted by the COR within fifteen (15) business days of receipt.

For Section C.4, the final deliverables will be sampled for each month.

(b) If found unacceptable, the Government will notify the Contractor in writing or by email of the non-acceptance accompanied by a detail explanation of non-acceptance of deliverable. The Contractor will have ten (10) business days to correct or arrive at an acceptable solution with the COR. Deliverables format will be agreed upon between the COR and the Contractor.

(c) Acceptance of all deliverables will be provided in writing by the COR.

SECTION F – DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 Government Holidays

(a) The following legal holidays are observed by the USPTO:

New Year’s Day January 1

Martin Luther King, Jr’s Birthday Third Monday in January

President’s Day Third Monday in February

Memorial Day Last Monday in May

Independence Day July 4

Labor Day First Monday in September

Columbus Day Second Monday in October

Veterans Day November 11

Thanksgiving Day Fourth Thursday in November

Christmas Day…