RFI_PISO.pdf

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

SPECIAL NOTICE

THIS IS NOT A NOTICE OF SOLICITATION ISSUANCE. This is a Request for Information (RFI) to receive comments and capability statements regarding the attached draft Performance Work Statement (PWS). This RFI is issued for market research and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Quotation (RFQ), or a promise to issue an RFP/RFQ in the future. There is no USPTO commitment or implied agreement or understanding as a result of Government action or inaction taken in response to the RFI or the accompanying documents or attachments. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government.

The subject requirement is being procured using the Alternative Competition Method in accordance with the Patent and Trademark Office Acquisition Guidelines (PTAG) and the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(4)(A).

The USPTO is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals for the work described in the attached documents. Participation in this process is strictly voluntary.

Responders are advised that the USPTO is not liable for and will not pay for any information or direct, indirect, or administrative costs incurred in preparing for or responding to this RFI. The USPTO has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor SAM.gov for future information pertaining to this requirement. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned, but will be handled In Accordance With (IAW) applicable proprietary markings.

Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response.

Questions regarding this Special Notice shall be submitted in writing by e-mail. Interested parties may request clarification or submit technical questions regarding this RFI in writing for any requirement that is unclear by sending an e-mail to the following Points of Contact (POCs):

Bradley Beers, Contracting Officer, Bradley.Beers@uspto.gov Nicholas Sabellico, Contract Specialist, Nicholas.Sabellico@uspto.gov

Questions regarding this RFI are requested to be submitted No Later Than (NLT) Wednesday, May 11, 2022 at 10:00 AM EDT. Questions must be sent to all above listed parties.

NO TELEPHONE REQUESTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

All respondents should use the following email subject line: “PISO RFI QUESTIONS 2022” mailto:Bradley.Beers@uspto.gov mailto:Nicholas.Sabellico@uspto.gov

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

The Government contemplates utilizing the Alternative Competition Method IAW the Patent and Trademark Office Acquisition Guidelines (PTAG) and the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(4)(A). This RFI is intended as preliminary market information gathering which the USPTO will use to determine which vendor(s) is/are the most likely to successfully meet the agency’s needs and are thereby eligible to participate in an alternative competition. As a result of this market research, the solicitation will ONLY be issued to the limited number of qualified vendor(s).

This RFI is not a request for competitive proposals.

The Government will not utilize formal evaluation criteria for market research associated w/ PTAG

6.1.1. The Government will review RFI responses to determine which vendors are most likely to successfully meet the agency’s requirements for PISO.

The USPTO is seeking qualified businesses to provide Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) International Search and Opinion (PISO) support services. Interested parties should review the draft PWS provided with this Special Notice and submit capability statements, questions, and innovative ideas to improve the acquisition in response to this RFI.

This RFI is a is a follow-up to a previous RFI that was published on beta.SAM.gov (now SAM.gov) on August 28, 2020 at the following link: https://sam.gov/opp/3dc4b2cf079749f3ad1b592c24aaa2c3/view.

The purpose of this follow-up RFI is to ensure the Government has up-to-date market research when determining acquisition strategy, developing the requirement, and developing the source selection plan.

Prior respondent information from the initial RFI has been documented and saved; however, the Government is requesting additional information as part of this RFI and requests all interested parties to submit updated capability statements (if applicable), responses to questions below, and innovative improvements to the acquisition, to include those who responded to the previous RFI. Previous respondents do not have to re-submit capability statements for consideration under PTAG Alternative Competition procedures; initial respondents determined to be capable have been “grandfathered” into the PTAG Alternative Competition.

Capability statements must provide the following information: Company name; POC(s), title(s), mailing address(es), phone number(s), fax number(s), and e-mail(s); and, System for Award Management (SAM) Unique Entity ID number. Vendors should also include their current business size status and socio-economic category by recommended North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code as part of their response. The Contracting Officer has determined NAICS code 541990 (All Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services) is the most appropriate NAICS code for the subject requirement IAW 13 C.F.R §121.402(b).

Capability statements must address your company’s recent and relevant past experience and business capability to perform all areas described in the draft PWS for this requirement. Experience as a subcontractor, partner, or joint venture may be submitted in addition to prime contractor experience.

https://sam.gov/opp/3dc4b2cf079749f3ad1b592c24aaa2c3/view

Capability statements must specifically address the following:

• While the United States International Searching Authority (ISA/US) receives approximately 22,000 international applications per year, these applications are not evenly filed by the applicants and/or forwarded to ISA/US for search and examination. Moreover, the technology areas in which applications are received by ISA/US can vary greatly over short periods of time. Due to the tight deadlines set forth in PCT Article 21, ISA/US intends to assign all work as it becomes available. As part of your capability statement, please explain how your company will be able to effectively manage varying weekly application assignments, including variations in the specific technology areas to ensure that all final deliverables are both timely and of an acceptable quality.

• Obtaining high quality searches and opinions is critical to the success of the initiative. Please describe your quality control plan to ensure that high quality deliverables are submitted to the USPTO, including quality monitoring and training plans (initial and continuing/refresher plans).

• It is the intention of the USPTO to maximize small business participation in any procurement resulting from this RFI. If your company is other than a small business, do you anticipate subcontracting? If so, identify the anticipated subcontracting efforts and the percentage of work your company commits to subcontracting to small businesses. In previous efforts, how successful has your company been in meeting small business subcontracting goals?

• Commerce Information Technology Requirement (CITR)-024 and OCIO-POL-63, Cloud Services Usage Policy, are included as RFI attachments and are applicable to this requirement.

Note in your response whether your approach to processing USPTO data includes an on-site server, or whether USPTO data will be processed using a Cloud Service Provider (CSP). If planning to use a CSP, please indicate whether your planned CSP is Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) compliant. If your company plans to use an on-site server to process USPTO data, indicate whether your company has held a moderate-risk Authority to Operate (ATO) at the USPTO or another federal agency in the past.

The capability statements should contain sufficient detail to demonstrate your company’s ability to perform all requirements of the PWS; however, the statements shall not exceed 20 pages in length.

For consistency and readability, please format your responses in standard letter size paper (8½ x 11) and no less than 12-point font. Submitted responses should be in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF). Proprietary information, if any, must be kept to a minimum and must be clearly marked. No classified information shall be submitted in response to this RFI.

In addition to capability statements, the USPTO requests feedback from all interested parties on the following:

• The PWS

• The Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) structure currently in the PWS vs. a streamlined single-CLIN structure that incorporates all contractor costs, to include IT security information, transition, and overhead, into a single per case price w/ a pricing matrix reflecting economies of scale/discounts at different quantity bands

• Case volumes at which price breaks occur (e.g., 1, 10, 100, 1000, 10,000, etc.)

• The Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) ordering process

• Innovative industry capabilities which are not listed in the PWS

• Appropriate NAICS code designation

This feedback is not subject to the above-mentioned capability statement page limitation; however, this portion of the submission will be used internally to inform acquisition strategy, source selection plan, contract structure, etc.

Capability statements and additional feedback must be emailed to all of the following POCs NLT Friday, May 13, 2022 at 10:00 AM EDT:

Bradley Beers, Contracting Officer, Bradley.Beers@uspto.gov Nicholas Sabellico, Contract Specialist, Nicholas.Sabellico@uspto.gov

All respondents should use the following email subject line: “PISO CAPABILITY STATEMENT 2022” mailto:Bradley.Beers@uspto.gov mailto:Nicholas.Sabellico@uspto.gov