IAC PWS - Updated 11-05-2024.pdf

CUI//SP-PROCURE

Controlled by: United States Patent and Trademark Office, OCAO, RICPO, 571-272-9990

Inventor’s Assistance Center (IAC)

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

Date: 11/05/2024

Contract Number: To be Determined

1.0 General

1.1 Introduction

The mission of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is to foster innovation, competitiveness, and job growth in the United States by conducting high quality and timely patent and trademark examination and review proceedings in order to produce reliable and predictable intellectual property rights; guide intellectual property policy, and improve intellectual property rights protection; and deliver intellectual property information and education worldwide. In support of this mission, under the administration of the Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Patents, Office of the Assistant Commissioner for Patents, Office of Patents Stakeholder Experience, Stakeholder Support Division the Inventor’s Assistance Center (IAC) provides information services to the public concerning general questions regarding patent examining policies and procedures. The IAC utilizes the USPTO’s Enterprise Call Center (ECC) system. Any questions regarding a particular application and the prosecution of that particular application are directed to the Technology Center or Patent Examiner to which that particular application is assigned.

The IAC is staffed by former Patent Examiners with signature authority of a Primary Patent Examiner, who are able to answer general questions concerning patent examining policy and procedures and the patent examining process.

The IAC shall provide comprehensive answers to questions relating to general patent examining policy and provide general information concerning patent examining rules, policies, and procedures. The IAC staff may provide assistance with filling out necessary forms, answering questions about rule interpretations, and help with general petition information and maintenance fee questions. Guidance on where to find forms, and other types of information relevant to filing a patent application, the prosecution of the application, along with how to use the USPTO website is also provided. Forms and additional information may be forwarded to stakeholders electronically when applicable.

1.2 Objective

The objective of this requirement is to provide a comprehensive solution for guidance to the public, particularly to the inventor community concerning general patent examining policies and procedures. The Contractor shall provide this information through the IAC Contact Center.

1.3 Type of Contract

The awarded contract will be a firm-fixed price contract.

1.4 Period of Performance

Base Period: April 30, 2025 – April 29, 2026 Option Period 1: April 30, 2026 – April 29, 2027 Option Period 2: April 30, 2027 – April 29, 2028 Option Period 3: April 30, 2028 – April 29, 2029 Option Period 4: April 30, 2029 – April 29, 2030

1.5 Place of Performance

The current work site for most of the IAC’s Contractor staff is fulltime telework. Certain circumstances may require the Contractor’s staff to work onsite at the USPTO campus in Alexandria, Virginia or another designated facility to support ad hoc work requirements such as training.

2.0 Specific Tasks/Requirements

a) Task 1: The Contractor shall respond to incoming calls and voicemails to the IAC Contact Center during IAC operating hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time, with the exception of Government holidays. In Fiscal Year 2024, the IAC received, on average, 1,551 calls per month. Performance standards and acceptable quality levels are as follows:

Shall answer customer calls: • Based on a monthly interval with a monthly volume of 1,500 to 2,500 calls arriving into the

IAC:

o Within two minutes 90% of the time or above;

o On average within one minute and thirty seconds.

• Based on a monthly interval with a monthly volume of 2,500 to 3,500 calls arriving into the

IAC:

o Within three minutes 90% of the time or above;

o On average within two minutes.

• With no time limit on length of call.

Abandonment Rate:

Abandonment is when a caller hangs up before an agent picks up a phone. The rate is based on the number of abandoned calls per month.

• Based on a monthly interval with a monthly volume of 1,500 to 2,500 calls arriving into the

IAC:

o Less than 2%;

• Based on a monthly interval with a monthly volume of 2,500 to 3,500 calls arriving into the

IAC:

o Less than 2.5% Customer Satisfaction Survey Score

• Customer satisfaction survey score of 84% or greater.

b) Task 2: The Contractor shall answer questions according to rules and regulations noted in the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) and USPTO documented policies and procedures. Questions will relate to general patent examining policy. The Contractor’s staff shall provide general information concerning patent examining rules and policies and procedures that are considered to be non-legal advice. The Contractor shall direct questions regarding a particular application and the prosecution of that particular application to the Technology Center or examiner to which that particular application is assigned. The Contractor shall contact other relevant parts of the USPTO and when applicable direct calls to the proper business area within the USPTO. The Contractor shall provide assistance to callers with issues such as how to fill out necessary forms, where to find forms, how to navigate the USPTO website, questions about rule interpretations, general petition information, maintenance fee questions, questions on prosecution of applications, and other types of information relevant to filing patent applications. The Contractor shall send the caller electronic resources, if necessary, to effectively respond to the caller’s needs. The Contractor shall, if necessary, research questions offline and follow-up with the caller within 24 business hours and sufficiently answer the question. The Contractor’s staff shall have the requisite knowledge in intellectual property (IP), patent examination, and patent prosecution processes to respond to all questions, with expertise which reflects, at a minimum, that of a Primary Patent Examiner with signature authority.

c) Task 3: The Contractor staff shall document all calls received at the IAC in the USPTO Contact Center Management System - Cloud (UCCMS-C) (or any future system provided by the USPTO) to provide information regarding the caller, the questions received, answers given, and a transaction code categorizing the types of calls received. The Contractor shall pull automatic reports from this system as requested by the USPTO during the IAC working hours.

d) Task 4: The Contractor shall provide a monthly report with statistical information on all incoming calls. The monthly report shall include the number of callers per United States time zone and state, the total number of calls received, the number of calls answered, the average amount of time spent per telephone call, the abandonment rate, and the amount of time callers were on hold.

This information must be available for each Contractor IAC operator as well as for the overall IAC operation. The monthly report shall also contain a summary of performance, and any recommendations the Contractor has to improve IAC operations.

The monthly report shall contain a summary of program task completions, open program tasks with status, and planned program actions. The monthly reports shall contain a list of Contractor employee positions with employee contact information, Contractor employee vacancy status with estimated onboard date, contract status, funding status, issues, and risks.

e) Task 5: The Contractor shall, on three separate one-day occasions, staff a booth representing the IAC at a USPTO event virtually or in-person at the USPTO campus in Alexandria, Virginia. The Contractor shall answer questions of the same content and level of expertise as applied to Task 2.

3.0 Key Personnel

a) The Contractor must provide one fulltime Program Manager for the Contractor staff who will have oversight of, and is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the IAC operation and the IAC’s Contractor staff. The Program Manager cannot be a member of the IAC Contractor’s help desk staff. The Program Manager shall also be required to attend meetings that are held with other USPTO call center managers to discuss common problems that exist in other USPTO call centers and to participate in finding solutions to these problems. The Program Manager shall report to the USPTO Contracting Officer Representative (COR). The Program Manager must be able to work remotely and perform all PWS requirements.

4.0 Alternative Worksite

a) IAC’s Contractor staff working offsite must be able to work remotely as requested by the USPTO, and shall be required to use USPTO Government furnished equipment (GFE) to connect to the USPTO via a VPN connection, or if another system is currently being used by the USPTO to make a secure connection to the USPTO. The IAC Contractor staff must have the minimum Internet speed comparable to the USPTO to perform all necessary IAC functions.

b) In the event of a delayed arrival, early closing, or Federal Government closure due to USPTO Contact Center operating status changes and an unscheduled telework option is available, the IAC will continue to remain open with Contractor staff working at remote locations responsible for attending to phone calls during operating hours.

c) The Contractor employees shall complete annual IT Security Training, complete Alternate Worksite Agreements, and follow the USPTO Rules of the Road when using USPTO automation resources.

d) The Contractor performing under this contract must have a PIV card to log-in to the USPTO network. In the event the issuance of the PIV card is delayed after background clearance and sponsorship, the Contractor shall temporarily use a USPTO PIV exemption to log on to the USPTO network using an RST (USPTO provided soft token.) Travel for issuance of a PIV card is at the Contractor’s expense.

5.0 Contractor Quality Assurance

(a) The Contractor shall provide monthly and ad hoc production and other reports.

(b) Delivery of reports, unless otherwise specified shall be made to the following:

COR

Alternate COR (ACOR) Government Point of Contact (POC)

(c) Unless otherwise specified, all documents and reports prepared and submitted by the Contractor to the Government against the awarded contract shall include the following information on the cover page of each document/report:

• Name and business address of the Contractor

• Contract Number

• Name, position, and location of the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative

• Date of report and time period covered.

6.0 Government Furnished Property/Equipment/Information

The USPTO will provide e-mail accounts and Internet access for each individual staffing the IAC under the awarded contract. The USPTO will provide information to the Contractor staff on such topics as rule changes, answers to common questions, and other types of information relevant to the operation of the IAC via email. T h e Contractor staff are expected to remain current on relevant patent examining rules, and policies and procedures in order to best serve IAC callers. In order to assist, the USPTO will allow the Contractor access to training materials. T h e Contractor staff shall attend all available in-person training offerings. Live training may be required for system changes during the life of the awarded contract.

The Government will provide the furniture and equipment necessary to operate the IAC as Government Furnished Property (GFP). The Government worksite accommodates up to four employees at a time.

Any IAC employee providing support at an alternative worksite will be provided with a security fob to allow access to USPTO systems as necessary via a VPN connection. Upon termination of employment, security fobs must be returned to the COR. If GFP is received by the Contractor in a condition not suitable for the intended use, the Contractor shall, upon receipt of it, notify the COR, detailing the pertinent facts. The COR will then direct the Contractor as to the appropriate action.

The USPTO will retain title to all GFP. The USPTO will provide maintenance of the GFP unless otherwise directed in this awarded contract and approval of the Contracting Officer.

The Contractor shall be responsible and accountable for all GFP provided under this awarded contract and shall comply with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 45 as applicable and in effect as of the date of this awarded contract. The Contractor shall establish and maintain a program for the use, protection, and preservation of the GFP in accordance with sound industrial practice in accordance with FAR Part 45. The Contractor assumes the risk of and shall be responsible for any loss or destruction of, or damage to

GFP.

During onboarding, each Contractor employee will be assigned an individual USPTO phone number and email account.

7.0 Kickoff Meeting

The Contractor shall attend a kickoff meeting with the Contracting Officer (CO), COR, and other designated POC’s no later than ten (10) business days after the contract is awarded. The kickoff meeting will be chaired by the CO to discuss the technical and contract objectives of this requirement and any concerns. The Contractor shall keep meeting minutes inclusive of action items for either party and forward a finalized copy to the CO and COR in Microsoft Word or Excel via email approval within two (2) business days after the meeting is held, or as otherwise directed.

8.0 Schedule of Deliverables

Deliverable Delivery Schedule Recipient PWS Reference

UCCMS Call Log By the 10th of every month, or upon request.

COR

ACOR

Government POC

Task 3

Monthly and ad hoc Report

By the 10th of every month.

COR

ACOR

Government POC

Task 4

Alternate Worksite Agreement

By the 10th business day following start of the contract and following Contractor employee onboarding at

USPTO.

COR

ACOR

Section 4 Alternative

Worksite Section

Kickoff Meeting Minutes

Due two (2) business days after the Kickoff Meeting is held.

CO

COR

Section 7 Kickoff Meeting

All deliverables shall comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C § 794 (d).)