Sole Source Justification_Limited Sources_Redacted.pdf

This is a Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) document filed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a contract extension under FAR 52.217-8.

The USPTO seeks to extend the Patent Technical Services (PTS) contract with LHDTSV, LLC for a six-month period from September 28, 2026 through March 27, 2027. The original contract was competitively awarded on September 27, 2021 as a hybrid firm-fixed-unit-price and labor-hour contract. The extension is justified as non-competitive because pricing was not evaluated at the time of original award, necessitating this formal justification. LHDTSV, LLC currently maintains a fully trained and operational workforce of approximately 250 qualified resources with specialized expertise in USPTO procedures and proprietary Automated Information Systems (AIS) platforms that cannot be rapidly acquired from alternative vendors. The extension is critical to avoid lapses in mission-essential patent application processing services, including initial intake, fee collection, formalities reviews, mailing of official examiner correspondence, and electronic financial record maintenance. No other sources were considered given the short-term nature of this extension to prevent service disruption until a follow-on contract is awarded. Market research indicated that a Request for Information was posted on November 19, 2025 to establish alternative competition for a future solicitation, which remains in pre-solicitation phase.

The pricing schedule covers nineteen task categories with detailed unit pricing for various deliverables including file maintenance, document processing, labor hours for processing clerks and support staff, and application reviews across utility, design, and international patent categories. The contracting officer will finalize price reasonableness determinations and prepare acquisition form documentation upon completion of negotiations.