Solicitation Amendment N0016726Q10350002 SF 30.pdf

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11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The 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 you 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 APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS 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 data, 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.)

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)

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

16C. DATE SIGNED

Previous edition unusable STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016) Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT 1. CONTRACT ID CODE PAGE OF PAGES

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQUISITION NUMBER 5. PROJECT NUMBER (If applicable)

6. ISSUED BY CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6) CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code) (X) 9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

CODE FACILITY CODE

SF 30 BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

Solicitation/Contract Form Continuation

The following changes have been made:

INFORMATION FROM TO

Response Due Date 16 Feb 2026 21 May 2026

N0016726Q10350002

Continuation of Description

Miscellaneous text in this section has been modified to:

STATEMENT OF WORK

PATENT SUPPORT

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is responsible for building and supporting the Navy's fleet of ships and combat systems. NAVSEA is the largest of the Navy's five systems commands. The NAVSEA enterprise comprises a headquarters and numerous field activities. The field activities include public shipyards and a Warfare Center Enterprise.

NAVSEA is the operating agent and the technical authority for all four public shipyards. The shipyards execute maintenance on submarines and aircraft carriers in order to provide combat-ready ships to the fleet. The shipyards are subject to optimization efforts, which is serving as a source of Navy innovation. The Navy's four shipyards include:

Norfolk Naval Shipyard; Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility; and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility.

NAVSEA's Warfare Center Enterprise provides technical advice and solutions to a number of partners, including NAVSEA Program Executive Offices, the fleet, the Marine Corps, the Office of Naval Research, the Department of Defense, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The technical advice and solutions provided by the Warfare Center Enterprise span the full spectrum and lifecycle of the Navy's platforms and systems. NAVSEA's Warfare Center Enterprise comprises eight Naval Surface Warfare Centers (NSWC) and two Naval Undersea Warfare Centers (NUWC). The NSWC includes: Carderock Division, Corona Division, Crane Division, Dahlgren Division, Indian Head Division, Panama City Division, Philadelphia Division, and Port Hueneme Division. The NUWC includes: Keyport Division and Newport Division.

The NAVSEA enterprise serves as a vital source of innovation for the Navy. NAVSEA innovations may be subject to patent protection. NAVSEA procures patent protection in order to protect the interests of the Navy in procurement processes, encourage further innovation by NAVSEA staff, and/or facilitate commercialization and manufacturing by the maritime industrial base. This Statement of Work outlines how a Contractor providing patent services will work with a participating component of the NAVSEA enterprise.

2.0. REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide patent services, discussed in greater detail in the SOW sections that follow, using personnel with the necessary subject matter expertise, to perform the work. The Government will identify the specific patent services that fall within the scope of the services described in SOW Sections 2.1 through 2.3, via individual calls placed against the Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) over the period of five (5) years commencing on the effective date of the Master BPA agreement. Individual CLIN requirements will also be identified at the Call/TO Level. Contractors shall be Cyber Maturity Model Certified (CMMC) Level 2 Self at time of award and shall follow 32 CFR Part 170 for the requirements of CMMC and shall follow DFARS 252.204-7021 to determine required CMMC levels that shall be maintained for the life of the contract.

2.1. Related Art Search Report

The Contractor shall review the invention disclosure provided by the designated Warfare Center and discuss with Patent Counsel for the designated Warfare Center ("designated Patent Counsel") any issues regarding the disclosure, including any statutory deadlines.

At the direction of the designated Patent Counsel, the Contractor shall perform a search and analysis of patents, patent application publications, and non-patent information that may be material to the technology described by the invention disclosure. The Contractor shall perform these tasks within a 10 to 14 business days, unless indicate otherwise by the

Patent Counsel. The Contractor shall use precise and comprehensive methods in conducting the search - for example, key word and index searches. The search will encompass patents, patent application publications, and non-patent information from the United States and abroad (where applicable).

Based on the results of the search, the Contractor shall conduct the analysis, which shall make best efforts to identify any issues relevant to patentability, including 35 U.S.C. (S) 102 (novelty) and (S) 103 (obviousness). If needed based on the results of the search, the Contractor shall make best efforts to assess inventiveness and/or double patenting.

The Contractor shall provide the designated Patent Counsel a " " (Report) with the results of Related Art Search Report the above-described search and analysis. The Report shall include an analysis and a listing of identified patents, patent application publications, and non-patent information. As to the identified patents and patent applications publications, the listing shall be arranged to include: document number, publication date, and name of patentees or applicants. As to the non-patent information, the listing shall conform to patent practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (e.g., 37 C.

F.R. 1.98(b)).

2.2. Patent Application

The designated Patent Counsel will decide whether to proceed with drafting a patent application. The designated Patent Counsel will communicate to the Contractor a decision to draft or not to draft a patent application.

If it is decided to draft a patent application, the Contractor shall prepare a first draft patent application, including drawings.

The first draft application may include informal figures. The Contractor shall submit the first draft patent application to the designated Warfare Center, which includes inventor(s), for review and comments.

The Contractor shall subsequently prepare a revised draft. The revised draft shall incorporate any comments to the first draft patent application provided by the inventor(s) and/or the designated Patent Counsel. The revised draft shall include FORMAL figures. The Contractor shall submit the revised draft patent application to the designated Patent Counsel. The patent application shall be prepared in time to meet any identified statutory deadlines.

The Contractor shall make all efforts to contact the inventor(s) during preparation of the patent application, as needed.

Should the Contractor experience or anticipate a delay in communicating with the inventor(s), then the Contractor shall notify the designated Patent Counsel in attempt to remedy the situation.

The contents of the patent application (first draft and revised draft) are: Statement of Government Interest, Field, Background, Summary, Brief Description of the Drawings, Detailed Description, Claims, Abstract, and Drawings. The patent application shall conform to patent practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark, as articulated in Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP), and best practices in the field.

2.3. Additional Instructions

The Statement of Government Interest, Field, Background, Summary, Brief Description of the Drawings, and Detailed Description shall a.

include paragraphs that are individually and consecutively numbered using Arabic numerals, enclosed in square brackets, bolded, and appearing at the beginning of each paragraph. The numbering shall consist of at least four numerals and include leading zeros.

The designated Patent Counsel may provide additional drafting instructions to the Contractor in order to conform the patent application to b.

NAVSEA practice and/or practice at a specific NAVSEA field office, if appropriate.

3.0 SPECIAL CONTRACTOR QUALIFICIATIONS

3.1 Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, with an active license and in good standing with the Office of Enrollment and Discipline.

3.2 Expert knowledge of patent practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. To demonstrate expert knowledge of patent practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, provide evidence of experience, which must include: the approximate number of patents prosecuted from inception to issuance ('cradle to grave') by the USPTO, an example list of ten (10) of those successfully issued patents with their corresponding patent numbers, a list of current or recent Patent Service clients, and any relevant contract number(s), if applicable.

3.3 High proficiency in drafting patent applications and associated documentation (e.g., drawings, diagrams, and sketches)

High proficiency in performing extensive research and analysis of patents, patent application publications, and non-3.4 patent information that may be material to the technology described in a given invention disclosure. Provide an approximate number of "Related Art Search Services" conducted for clients.

3.5 Technical background in a field relevant to invention disclosures. Technical background may be shown with evidence of a degree in electrical engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, marine engineering, aeronautical engineering, biotechnology engineering, for example. Provide a sample list of technical experts and their specialties. The offeror must show expertise in at least three (3) of the aforementioned technical areas.

4.0. POINT OF CONTACT AND DELIVERY LOCATION

The point of contact for the BPA identified below:

Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) for the BPA: TBD

Patent Counsel will be identified in each individual BPA call.

Delivery location will be identified in each individual BPA call.

5.0 DELIVERABLES

The Government will identify deliverables in each individual BPA call.

6.0 SECURITY REQUIREMENTS: As required per the BPA and each individual BPA call.

7.0 TRAVEL: Travel will not be required to support this effort. [All interactions with inventors or Patent Counsel will be by email, through an approved virtual platform, and/or by telephone.]

BPA TERMS AND CONDITIONS

"The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, (NSWCCD) invites vendors to enter into an Unpriced Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) that establishes the terms and conditions applicable to Patent Services. As a result of this solicitation approximately 3 to 5 vendors are needed to provide the services; however, the Government reserves the right to award to a single vendor."

1. The Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) holder shall provide services as described in the Statement of Work (SOW), if and when requested by the contracting officer for the duration of the BPA.

2. The Contracting Officers of Naval Surface Warfare Centers (NSWC) Carderock Division, Corona Division, Crane Division, Dahlgren Division, Indian Head Division, Panama City Division, Philadelphia Division, and Port Hueneme Division, and Naval Undersea Warfare Centers (NUWC) Keyport Division and Newport Division are the only authorized individuals to order against this BPA via collaboration with Carderock Division Contracting Department.

3. The total of all BPA calls may not exceed the ceiling amount of $9,000,000.00.

4. Pricing: The prices to the Government shall be as low as or lower than those charged to the contractor's most favored customer. Purchases under the awarded BPAs will be made in accordance with FAR 13.303-5 and DFARS 213.303-5.

5. If applicable, the requested items shall be FOB Destination and delivered to:

NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER CARDEROCK (NSWCCD)

RECEIVING OFFICER

9500 MACARTHUR BLVD

WEST BETHESDA MD 20817-5700

Or other NSWCCD facility as required and specified on the Call.

6. The BPA ordering period will begin at contract award date and proceed for a period of five (5) years, or until the total of all Calls (Ceiling) is reach, whichever occurs first. The Government is obligated only to the extent of authorized purchases actually made under the BPA.

7. Price reasonableness will be determined at the BPA Call level.

8. Each BPA Call shall utilize a Performance Work Statement (PWS) or Statement of Work (SOW) and will include applicable attachments and deliverables (CDRLs).

9. All invoices shall be submitted electronically through DoD Wide Area Workflow Receipt and Acceptance (WAWF) system following instructions provided in Clause 252.232-7006 Invoice Instructions (NSWCCD), and all payments will be made through electronic funds transfer (EFT).

10. NSWCCD assigned technical point of contact will review invoices for payment per each call against this BPA (See Section G).

11. NSWCCD Accounting and Appropriation data will be included in each call placed under this BPA.

12. The Product Service Code (PSC) allowed for ordering against this BPA is R498, and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code: 541199.

13. A limit of $350,000.00 is set for each BPA Call.

Requests for Clarifications:

1) Does the Agency have an incumbent?

Response: No

2) If so, can the Agency please provide the contract number?

Response: N/A

3) Does the Agency have a backlog? If so, can the Agency please provide the amount of matters in the queue?

Response: The BPA addresses new invention disclosures approved for patent filing, not mitigate existing backlogs. It is possible that the BPA may at some point be used for this purpose if organizational changes dictate such a pivot.

4) Should the price quoted for preparation of the application include the USPTO filing fee and drawings?

Response: The quote should include drawings since the drawings are part of the application and expressly mentioned in the SOW. The quote does NOT include USPTO filing fee, since the Warfare Centers will do the filing. We simply need to receive the finished product and will file/pay filing fee ourselves.

5) Section 2.1 Related Art Search Report

5.1. What is the expected volume of Related Art Search Report requests monthly?

Response: There is no monthly forecast of volume. The number of Related Art Search Reports will be commensurate with the number of applications drafted. A single report for a single application. Patent application drafting requests will be provided as needed by NAVSEA and/or the Patent Counsel.

5.2. Can NAVSEA provide an estimated annual forecast of Related Art Search Report request volume, including the approximate number of requests expected per year?

Response: There is no annual forecast. Patent application drafting requests will be provided as needed by NAVSEA and/or the Patent Counsel. The number of Related Art Search Reports will be commensurate with the number of applications drafted. A single report for a single application. Patent application drafting requests will be provided as needed by NAVSEA and/or the Patent Counsel.

5.3. What information will be included in each invention disclosure?

Response: Each invention disclosure will include a description of the invention. The invention disclosure may also include drawings, specifications, schematics, slide decks, etc.

5.4. Will Patent Counsel and/or inventors be available to answer questions that may arise based on relevant prior art references returned in the search?

Response: Patent Counsel will be available to answer any questions. Inventors may be available as needed, on a case-by-case basis, and at the discretion of the Patent Counsel.

5.5. Are searches of specific databases required or recommended for patent and non-patent literature?

Response: There is no required database to search prior art. Recommend use of the USPTO's patent public search. Other publicly accessible (e.g., Google Patents) or private databases are acceptable as long as there is no tracking or recording of the search history by a third party.

5.6. Will the Contractor be required to search prior art references in foreign languages and provide translations?

Response: The Contractor should search foreign prior art references to the extent practicable. A machine language translation will suffice. An official translation is not required.

5.7. Is the 10 to 14 business day performance timeline extendable in the event the search results are complex, such as a crowded art space or a large patent family?

Response: The 10-14 business day of performance to conduct a search for a single application is not extendable.

6) Section 2.2 Patent Application

6.1. Will the Contractor have prepared a Related Art Search Report for each patent application that Patent Counsel requests Contractor's drafting services?

Response: Yes.

6.2. Will additional information be provided to the Contractor at the time of the request for patent application drafting?

Response: No. The invention disclosure will be the basis for both the Related Art Search Report and the Patent Application. At the discretion of the Patent Counsel, additional information may be provided, on a case-by-case basis, and only to clarify or further explain the contents of the invention disclosure.

6.3. What is the expected volume of patent application draft requests monthly?

Response: There is no monthly forecast of volume. Patent application drafting requests will be provided as needed by NAVSEA and/or the Patent Counsel.

6.4. Can NAVSEA provide an annual forecast of patent application drafting requests, including the approximate number expected per year?

Response: There is no annual forecast. Patent application drafting requests will be provided as needed by NAVSEA and/or the Patent Counsel.

6.5. Will requests and other communications from NAVSEA be provided utilizing a particular communication platform that the law firm must obtain or license?

Response: Communications will be via email. All email communications must be encrypted. If necessary, files may be exchanged using a DOW compliant tool, such as DOD SAFE.

6.6. In what file format will drawings for each invention disclosure be provided in?

Response: There is no specific format for drawings.

6.7. What is the expected number of figures to be included in each draft patent application?

Response: There is no specific number of figures to be provided with an invention disclosure. This will be at the discretion of the inventor(s).

6.8. Will drafting requests be made electronically, or will there be any physical files provided?

Response: Communications and any documentation will be provided electronically.

6.9. If Patent Counsel decides to proceed with drafting a patent application, what is the expected completion time for the first draft of the application?

Response: The expected completion for a first draft is three (3) weeks. This may be extended by the Patent Counsel based on an articulated need, which may include complexity of the technology.

6.10. After receiving comments on the first draft of the patent application, what is the expected completion time for preparing the revised draft patent application?

Response: After completion of the first draft, the expected completion time for the revised draft is two (2) weeks. This may be extended by the Patent Counsel based on an articulated need, which may include nature of the requested changes to the first draft.

6.11. If issues related to the contents of the patent application arise during drafting, such as inventorship, will Contractor or Patent Counsel handle such issues?

Response: Any issues pertaining to inventorship and any other similar topics will be handled internally by Patent Counsel and any other relevant staff.

7) Section 2.3.b Additional Instructions

7.1. Does NAVSEA have specific patent practices that can be provided?

Response: Patent Counsel will provide any insights on specific patent practices. This may include the exact language in the "Statement of Government Interest" of the patent application.

8) Pricing

8.1. Can the Government clarify the pricing for this BPA? On page 3 of the solicitation, the pricing structure only provides two items (CLINS: 0001 and 0002); however, this would be a 5-year contract.

Response: The Solicitation is requesting pricing on CLIN 0001 and CLIN 0002 in order to evaluate quotes/offers using LPTA (Lowest Price Technically Acceptable) evaluation factors, but the awarded BPAs will be unpriced. During the 5-year BPA Ordering period, when an Order/service (BPA Call) is required, the BPA holders (awardees) will quote on the required service(s) specified on the provided Statement of Work (SOW).

Whoever provides the lowest price technically acceptable quote will be awarded the BPA Call.

8.2. Can the Government provide a pricing sheet?

Response: The government does not have pricing sheet for these services. Please see response to Question 8.1.

8.3. Can this be priced hourly?

Response: The quotes we will require will be for the entire cost of service, not for the hourly cost.

9) Regarding Statement of Work section 2.1 (Related Art Search Report) - is the use of U.S. third-party search agents to perform the substantive searching acceptable? We typically hire a U.S.-based search firm as they can perform a thorough confidential search for a fraction of what an attorney would charge and the results are superior. My plan would be to engage a search agent for the searches and then digest the search results and prepare the required "Related Art Search Reports."

Response: A contractor may obtain the services of a subcontractor to perform search functions only if the subcontractor meets the same Department of War (DoW) security requirements as the contractor as outlined in the BPA in providing said services - particularly with the handling of DoW technical data. The identity of the subcontractor must be communicated to Patent Counsel. The subcontractor must be a U.S. entity.

10) Is the use of a closed-system AI model permitted in connection with Section 2.2 (Patent Application)? We also routinely use a closed-model AI system to prepare certain patent application language, review patent application drafts for errors, confirm claim scopes, etc. This not only saves time but also results in better patent applications.

Response: Uploading Navy technical data into a private AI-model, even if in a closed environment, implicates additional IT requirements and safeguards that are beyond the scope of this BPA. At this time, AI-models cannot be used to prepare patent applications. This may be revisited in the future.

11) In the short budget table there are items 0001 and 0002, with Quantity listed as "1" and Unit listed as "Lot." I assume "Unit Price" is the individual cost for the tasks to be performed in Sections 2.1 and 2.2 (please let me know if I am incorrect there), but how do we calculate the "Amount" column without knowing how many tasks will be performed?

Response: CLIN 0001 is for the cost of a 'Standard" Related Art Search Report" as outlined in 2.1 of the SOW. CLIN 0002 is for the cost of a "standard" patent service as outlined in the SOW 2.2. The quote should include drawings since the drawings are part of the application and expressly mentioned in the SOW. The quote does NOT include USPTO filing fee, since the Warfare Centers will do the filing. We simply need to receive the finished product and will file/pay filing fee ourselves. I understand that some applications are complex, but those are the exception to the rule. Please see response to 8.1.

Contract Clauses

Additional Information/Notes

The following clauses were added:

DFARS Clauses Incorporated by Reference

Number Title Effective Date Alternate/ Deviation

Variation Effective Date

252.204-7021 Contractor Compliance with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Level Requirement.

Jan 2023

CARDEROCK DIVISION, 9500 MACARTHUR BOULEVARD

BETHESDA, MD 20817-5700

UNITED STATES

Arnel Ngo, Email: arnel.a.ngo.civ@us.navy.mil Telephone: 7574782013 AdminBy:

SCD: PAS:

2. DFARS 252.204-7021 was incorporated by reference.