Sources Sough Notice Document Copy Center Services 561439.docx

This Sources Sought Notice is for informational and planning purposes and shall NOT be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation or commitment by the Government at this time. This request for information (RFI) is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered as an invitation for bid or request for quotation. This notice is intended strictly for market research. Your response to this Sources Sought Notice will be treated as information only. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of contractor submission of responses to this announcement or the Government use of such information. This request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract. The purpose of this Sources Sought notice is to determine interest and capability of potential qualifications of 8a Small Businesses firms relative to the North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) 561439 - Other Business Service Centers (including Copy Shops).

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), The Patent and Trademark Copy Fulfillment Branch (PTCFB) of the Public Records Division (PRD), has a requirement for manages the Document Services Program (DSP). The DSP accepts and fills orders for certified and uncertified copies of United States Patent and Trademark Office documents. The overwhelming majority of orders for documents are from paying public customers. Only a small percent of total orders is for other government agencies, for in-house organizations or for special unpaid projects. During FY22, 66,188 certified and 1 uncertified copy of patent and trademark related documents were provided to customers. During FY23, 59,235 certified and 0 uncertified copies of patent and trademark related documents were provided to customers.

The workflow of the DSP is currently organized as a single production pipeline in which contract employees perform certain tasks, such as order entry, file retrieval and copy production, and Federal government employees perform certain other tasks, such as certification and order correction. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is seeking 8a Small business firms as the current award is within the SBA 8a program. The USPTO is seeking a firm to staff and manage the requirements of the following:

Need: Document Services Program Support Specifications:

Scope

The goal of the Public Records Division is to provide products and services that meet customer expectations 100% of the time. The USPTO recognizes that the ability of the contractor to provide that level of service is dependent upon three factors: The quality of the source of the image provided for reproductions, the quality of the performance of the equipment/systems provided to the contractor and the interest of the contractor in managing its people and daily operations. Currently, for example the quality of the patents being sold are over 99% satisfactory as judged by customer complaints. The Public Records Division intends to maintain this level of quality.

Deliverables

Major Components of the Document Services Program Operations Customer Service:

Customer Service is the backbone of the DSP and USPTO insists that it be perceived as a reliable source of exceptionally high-quality products and services that are delivered correctly and in a timely manner. The contractor must ensure that all customers are treated equally and that their needs for USPTO products and services are satisfied, with reasonable expectations to be determined unilaterally by the Government. The contractor must be aware at all times that they are representing the USPTO as a whole and that the impression the customer receives from Customer Service personnel is often the first, and has a lasting impression. The impression made by customer service personnel is critical to the success of the DSP and is directly related to the satisfaction of customers as measured by the USPTO.

Customer Service is required in several locations within the Knox Building, concourse level, and must be provided on a continuous basis, without interruption for any reason:

a. PTCFB Customer Service/Incoming Mail, located in the Knox Building, concourse location. Customer Service/Incoming Mail hours correspond to the official hours of the PTO, 8:30a.m. to 5:00 p.m. During these hours, the contractor will be required to provide sufficient staffing to perform the following customer service tasks:

Within the Document Services Branch (DSB) location, the contractor must:

1) Maintain a Central Mail Receipt Area for the Public Records Division and the Patent and Trademark Copy Fulfillment Branch, based on guidance provided by the COR or the designee. The contractor will receive correspondence, orders and other requests from both internal and external USPTO customers via mail, fax, email.

The contractors’ requirements include, but is not limited to, the following mail processing tasks:

(a) Read correspondence/orders to determine appropriate routing, i.e., orders for PTCFB products or services, correspondence for individuals in PRD, correspondence misrouted to PRD but destined for other USPTO organizations, etc.;

(b) Perform appropriate sorts on all correspondence/orders belonging to PTCFB. Orders for PTCFB products will be sorted based on product and payment type and placed in batches

(c) Apply the appropriate fee code and payment amount that corresponds to the product or service ordered by the customer;

(d) Use PALM and AHD (the internal USPTO patent application location and bibliographic data systems) or other means provided by USPTO, to determine customer’s entitlement/right to order a copy of a pending patent document;

(e) Produce necessary copies of orders to place in appropriate batches, as needed; and

(f) Deliver orders, in batches, to the correct financial processing area, within 2 hours for receipt into the Central Mail Receipt Area. (Currently orders for payment by check are processed directly into the USPTO’S RAM financial system before the orders are entered into CCC. Currently, orders for payment by deposit account and credit card are entered into the PTO’s RAM financial system via a direct interface with CCC during the data entry task.

Order Entry, Tracking, Finishing

CCC is the system whose modules record new orders, track the progress of orders through the document production pipe line, and record the date the order was completed. The contractor will use GFE workstations that include the CCC application to enter new orders for certified and uncertified documents, to track the progress of orders, and to close out orders.

Document finishing includes appropriately finishing certified documents; packaging documents for delivery and delivering finished orders/documents to a designated place for pick-up by delivery service providers.

The Contractor shall submit a (weekly) processing and distribution report to the COR or designee.

Order Entry Under the Order Entry task, the contractor must:

a. Within the overall goal of moving all new orders from receipt through the data entry step within one day, and with guidance from the COR, prioritize the entry of orders based upon the timeliness goals for the different products and any special services for those products.

b. Enter all orders received in paper form (including those received by fax, USPS, delivered via e-mail) into CCC using standard CCC operating procedures and guidance from the COR or his/her designee; (Note that the orders will have been screened, coded and batched in a prior processing step.)

c. Enter financial payment information into the FPP payment system via an automated interface with CCC for orders having deposit account and credit card.

d. Print Quality Control Sheets for those orders containing products that have been determined to need an automated sample to review the quality of data entered into CCC. (The products and the percentage of orders sampled are determined by PTO Management and subject to change.)

e. Correct any errors in data entry discovered during Quality Review.

f. Print Control Sheets for orders that will be filled in paper or other physical media; The Control Sheets are used to identify orders throughout the production pipeline.

g. Sort control sheets for the appropriate next step in document production. (The “next processing step” differs from product to product, dependent upon on the type of source media; its availability in-house, and the established systems/procedures for preparing copies.)

Document Tracking The CCC system currently tracks only the broad, general order fulfillment stages. Most of the tracking of orders through the various processing steps is done manually by applying initials to Control Sheets in the work area receiving the order/document from a prior step, or in the work area dispatching the order/document to the next processing step. The Contract Monitoring Staff within PTCFB, who are responsible for monitoring work, and for moving work between the contractor and PTO functions throughout the production pipeline, apply many initial to work in progress. It is anticipated that within the life of the Contract, CCC will be enhanced to allow the automated recording of location and production status information through the use of bar codes and wands or other technology, and that for efficiency of operations the contractor or USPTO employee who completed a processing step, or who is receiving work from a prior processing step, will be required to use the automated CCC tracking means.

Under the Document Tracking task, the contractor must:

a. With guidance from the COR or his/her designee use appropriate means, i.e., manual and/or automated, to track the progress of orders through the various processing stages;

b. With guidance from the COR or his/her designee, bring to attention any order/document that appears to be out of the range of acceptable time frames for processing like orders/documents.

c. Submit a daily “Request for Unavailable Copies: list to the COR or designee.

Document Finishing Under the Document Finishing task, and with guidance from the COR or his/her designee, the contractor must within 4 business hours of receipt of documents to be finished:

a. Apply ribbons and/or seals to certified documents in accordance with standard operating procedures for the various types of documents;

b. Bind certified documents, for example, with eyelets, with heat seal folders (Cover bind), with drill and twine fastening, etc.;

c. Secure uncertified documents;

d. Print Packing Lists for completed orders/documents

e. Attach Packing Lists to completed orders/documents;

f. Close the order or order lines in CCC;

g. Package completed orders for mailing or other delivery means according to type of document, weight, destination and customer wishes;

h. Use the mail metering machine for orders mailed via USPS;

i. Fill out the appropriate paperwork for orders mailed via UPS, and USPS delivery service;

j. Ensure the “ready to deliver” completed orders/documents are placed in the proper location for USPS or another courier pick-up.

k. Associate the completed Control Sheets with a copy of the Packing Lists and the original customer order for filing and storage.

Other Information The number of orders received in paper form is expected to decrease over the life of the contract as enhancements to CCC and other major USPTO systems make it easier and more advantageous for customers to place orders directly via the Internet or other electronic transmission.

Over the life of the contract, it is expected that paper certified document finishing would decrease because the documents will be supplied on DVD/CD-ROM or other physical electronic media that contains the certification information.

It is envisioned that the ability to enter electronic funds transfer transactions into the PTO’s FPP financial system via a direct interface with CCC during the data entry task.

The PTCFB currently maintains UPS accounts for delivery of documents.

Document Production Orders that are placed via the Internet (currently patents, patent application publications, patent applications and patent file wrappers) can be received, processed and delivered electronically without human intervention. Orders that are placed via the Internet, email or by any other means, that are for documents to be delivered in a physical media (currently paper or DVD/CD require processing by the Document Services Program.

CCC prints a Control Sheet for every order/document to be delivered in a physical media, i.e., currently paper or DVD/CD form. The Control Sheet is routed to the appropriate location within the DSP area to advance the order to the next processing step in making the copy.

There are six paths that an order may take based upon the type of source media and technology available for copying:

1) Sourced from electronic media, routed by CCC to central paper printers or DVD/CD burners;

2) Sourced from electronic media, manually pulled from stand-alone paper printing, DVD/CD burning systems;

3) Sourced from on-site electronic image store, paper, microfilm or DVD (CD) records, manually copied to paper or DVD/(CD);

4) Sourced from off-site paper or microfilm records, manually copied to paper;

5) Sourced from off-site paper patent or trademark file wrapper, manually copied to paper;

6) Sourced from off-site paper, microform, DVD (CD), video or other media, manually copied to paper, or to the same media.

The requirements for producing copies of documents differ with each of the six paths.

Electronic Source to Central Paper Printers or DVD/CD Burner Patents, Patent Application Publications, Patent Applications-as-filed, some Patent File Wrappers, Trademark Applications-as-filed, TM Registrations and some Trademark File Wrappers are currently produced from USPTO image stores and printed to paper or DVD/CD. Once the order is entered and passes any Quality Review check, CCC routes the order to the retrieval and print function. The order prints at one of the four production printers, three color production printers, or at the four DVD/CD burners on site. Every paper copy from the printers has a cover sheet and a trailer sheet to identify the order. The paper printers also print a sheet identifying those documents being burned to DVD/CD. Paper certified copies are automatically produced on A4 paper, one sided, unstapled; uncertified paper copies are produced on 8 ½ by 11-inch paper, duplex, stapled. Every DVD/CD has a document identifier printed on it. The DVD/CD Burner system is likely to have many enhancements as legal acceptance of DVD/CD media continues to grow.

Under this task contractor must:

a. Match order Control Sheets to printer and DV/D/CD output;

b. Conduct a quality review of paper copies to ensure complete, readable documents;

c. As directed by the COR or its designee, perform quality checks on DVD/CD products,

d. For poor quality paper copies, make substitute copies from appropriate back-up systems.

e. Control Sheets for irretrievable copies shall be reported and provided to COR or his/her designee for troubleshooting within one hour of receipt of the notice.

Electronic Source to Manual Stand-Alone Printer Trademark Registrations, Patent Assignments and Trademark Assignments are retrieved from a stand-alone system and printed to paper.

Under this task contractor must:

a. Take the requested document number from the Control Sheet, key the number into the stand-alone system;

b. Match order Control Sheets to the paper or DVD (CD) copy of the document produced;

c. Conduct a Quality Review of paper copies to ensure complete, readable documents;

d. As directed by the COR or designee, perform quality checks on products;

e. Notify COR or his/her designee of any retrieval problems within two hours.

On-site Physical Source to Manual Copier There are three types of physical on-site source documents: 1) DVD/CD master copies, color printed from the DVD, 2) plant patents, where the Copies and master is stored on-site, with number of color prints from that master. and 3) Electronically where the copies are printed in color. .

1) Under this task, for documents to be made from on-site masters other than plant patents, contractor must:

a. Taking the requested document number from the Control Sheet retrieve the source media;

b. For paper or microform masters, make a paper copy of the source media on the appropriate GFE (microfilm or microfiche to paper copies, or, paper to paper copier), and for DVD (CD) masters, burn a DVD (CD) copy on the GFE DVD (CD) burner;

c. Match order Control Sheets to the copy of the document printed/burned;

d. Conduct a quality review of paper copies to ensure complete, readable documents, or follow guidance of the COR in checking DVD (CD) products;

e. Notify COR or his/her designee of any retrieval/printing problems.

2) Under this task, to fill orders for plant patents, contractor must:

a. Taking the requested number from the Control Sheet, pull a copy of the requested plant patent from the folder of copies for that plant patent;

b. If the supply of copies remaining in the folder reaches the number specified by the COR or designee institute re-order procedures.

c. Box up the older plant patents for shipment to Boyers, PA when space for housing the plant patents reaches it capacity on-site. Notify COR or his/her designee for guidance on shipping requirements to Boyers.

Off-site Physical Source to Manual Copier Microfiche of old patent applications-as-filed and assignments are stored off-site. When the contractor attempts to retrieve these from the current image store, they will be “considered irretrievable from the current image stores”. The contractor shall initiate ordering procedures of these documents via the ordering process for Boyers, PA so that a copy of the media can be sent from that location.

Off-site File Wrapper to Manual Copier Patent and Trademark file wrappers contain the prosecution history of an application for a patent or trademark, from its initial filing in the USPTO, through issuance of the patent or registration of the trademark (or to abandonment), to post-issuance or post-registration changes of information or status. Customers may order copies of entire files, or copies of selected papers from the files. File wrappers are primarily located at an off-site warehouse; some are in locations throughout the PTO and in archive facilities.

The average patent file contains fewer than 400 pages, while the average trademark file is under 50 pages. However, certain patent files, particularly those involved in in-house legal appeals or interferences, can extend to thousands of pages. If a patent file wrapper exceeds 400 pages, it must be prepared for scanning before the office can process the request. File wrappers may vary in paper quality and size, with older files often being worn or tattered. The contractor must handle these older files with care to avoid causing further damage.

Once the file wrappers are received and the copies are made and inspected by the contractor, both the file and the copies are given to the Contract Monitors if the copy requires certification, to transport them to the applicable location for further processing. The contractor sends the uncertified copy for packing and mailing. As such the Contract Monitors forwards the certified copy and file to the Certification Section. All file wrappers are copied onto A4 size paper.

Under this task the contractor must:

a. Order paper patent and/or trademark file wrappers primarily via PTO’s File Ordering System daily. There may be some instances in which the file wrapper will need to be requested, via email from an internal PTO location.

b. When paper file wrappers are received, match the file to the Control Sheet and prepare a batch sheet.

c. Measure the paper files to determine whether or not file wrapper exceeded 400 pages additional fees are applicable. If additional fees apply, fill out the appropriate paperwork and send the Control Sheet and paperwork to the Order Services Section for cancellation and refunds.

d. Once the paperwork and control sheet is returned to the Contractor with the additional fees collected proceed with the prepping and copying of the file wrapper as applicable.

e. If no additional fees are necessary, prepare and copy the entire file wrapper or portions of the file wrapper in accordance with the (Control Sheets as well as instructions from CCC for the specific order line).

f. Perform a Quality Check of the copy to ensure accuracy and completeness,

g. Forward copies for certified products along with the file wrapper to the Certification Section via the Contract Monitoring staff;

h. Forward copies for uncertified products for packaging and mailing;

i. Return files to their appropriate location once the order has been completed and shipped to the customer;

j. Retrieve a copy from the applicable image store of the selected paper from image file wrapper based on the Control Sheet and CCC instructions for electronic patent or trademark file wrappers

k. Maintain a log of the file wrapper and selected paper activities and submit a weekly report

l. Notify the COR or his/her designee of problems in ordering, copying or handling files.

Off-site Variable Source to Variable Copy Occasionally customers will order copies that cannot be produced in-house, for example, a copy of videotape from a file wrapper, a microfiche copy of a microfiche, or a copy of a paper file onto a CD. In these instances, the contractor takes the original media to a reliable commercial copy production service for production of the copy. These orders are infrequent and unique.

Under this task, the contractor must follow the guidance of the COR or his/her designee in having copies prepared.

Other Information Currently the DSP contractor produces copies to fill orders for copies of files that are not available electronically. Copies of files from PTO locations other than those specified are filled by the Patent Technology Corps of the USPTO will continue to dramatically decrease throughout the life of the contract as more patent and trademark files will be filled from electronic media. For example, of the total file wrapper products produced in FY2016 less than 54% were filled from paper or non-electronic sources.

The customer demand for paper copies of files has been decreasing over the past three years and is expected to continue to decrease throughout the life of the contract.

Operations Support There are number of tasks that the contractor must perform to support the production of copies. The tasks below are generic in nature; the specific items under each task may change in importance or be supplanted by other items as technology, systems and procedures change throughout the life of the contract.

Under this task the contractor must:

a. Use standard operating procedures provided by the COR or his/her designee to request service for USPTO provided and maintained systems and machines;

b. Provide courier pick-up and delivery services to and from locations throughout the PTO occupied buildings using the Shuttle Services provided by PTO (the schedule may be modified as needed by the COR or their designee);

c. Maintain files of on-site media;

d. Maintain up-to-date records of completed orders, i.e., original orders with their Control Sheets and packing lists;

e. With guidance from the COR, establish and maintain an order archiving system which includes for example preparing orders for shipment to the National Archives.

f. Update existing CCC system tables that support production operations

g. Purchase copy media supplies e.g., paper and DVDs (CD), to support production;

h. Purchase machine supplies, e.g., toner, to support production; *Toner will be furnished with new RICOH Printers pending installation

i. Purchase commercial copy production services when those services are not available in- house.

j. Print plant patents according to procedures established by the COR or their designee.

k. Advise COR or their designee when USPTO furnished supplies, e.g., seals, Cover bind folders and packing lists, need to be replenished before depletion.

l. Purchase general production support supplies, and document finishing and mailing supplies for both certified and uncertified products, e.g., ribbon, eyelets, rubber bands, mailing envelopes. Note that Cover bind folders for Certified products are furnished by the PTCFB.

Administration CCC provides a variety of reports on production and work in progress. Because the work of the contractor is an integral part of the production pipeline, actions of the contractor impact the overall timeliness of document production. CCC reports of production numbers and timeliness reflect the work of both the contractor and PTO staff. The contractor must work closely with the COR or their designee to coordinate and synchronize activities so that the workflow within the entire production pipeline is constant, predictable, and balanced.

As a complement to CCC reports, it is necessary for the contractor to supply reports on the status of contractor tasks and operations, and respond to various ad hoc requests for information.

The number and type of reports needed, and the number of requests for information will vary according to the state of overall operations, management concerns and technological capabilities.

Under this task contractor must:

a. Provide a weekly status report of Contractor operations to include, at a minimum, information on any problems that may have impacted performance for that week, any machine downtime, accomplishments or changes during the week, and other information that is pertinent to operations. The COR or their designee will work with the contractor to refine this report so that it is a useful addition and complements the reports currently produced by PTCFB operations areas. The report is due on the same day and time as the PTCFB operations reports and covers the prior week. Weekly report is due every following Monday.

b. Provide a monthly status report of Contractor operations that summarizes the weekly status reports. The COR or their designee will work with the contractor on this report. Monthly report is due every Monday of the end of each month.

c. Weekly report of physical media on-site, by type of document and dates and number ranges. Weekly report is due every following Monday.

d. Provide requests of output, input or work in progress for any product for which there is management concern or interest. The need for these reports is usually caused by implementation of new systems to produce existing products and the introduction of new products. The COR or their designee will offer guidance on the content of these reports; A response by the contractor shall be issued within two (2) hours window depends on the complexity of the request. the reply shall not take longer than seven (7) business days.

e. Respond to ad hoc requests for information on operational matters, such as the retrieval of the original orders for completed work that are needed to resolve customer questions or concerns. Contractor must respond to these requests expeditiously. A response by the contractor shall be issued within two (2) hours window depends on the complexity of the request. The reply shall not take longer than seven (7) business days.

f. Respond to requests for products or services, such as for a copy of a document that is needed for testing or verification of information in the document, to ship a special document to an international authority, or to have the courier drop-off or pick-up a document relevant to the DSP to another USPTO location. Contractor must respond to these requests expeditiously. A response by the contractor shall be issued within two (2) hours window depends on the complexity of the request. The reply shall not take longer than seven (7) business days.

g. Provide a daily comptroller report if needed, a monthly invoice package, weekly and monthly plant patent report, a monthly missing patent memo only for reference, monthly complaint report if needed.

Place of Performance

All work described herein shall be performed at the following on-site location unless otherwise specified by the government:

The workflow of the DSP is currently organized as a single production pipeline in which contract employees perform certain tasks, such as order entry, file retrieval and copy production, and Federal government employees perform certain other tasks, such as certification and order correction.

The Certified Copy Center (CCC) ties all functions of the production pipeline together through a number of modules that not only facilitate necessary production tasks, but also advance orders to subsequent processing stages and track order progress.

The business model followed in the Document Services Program is that of a retail sales operation. The integrated nature of the workflow makes it imperative that the contractor work closely with Patent and Trademark Copy Fulfillment Branch personnel to assure that customers receive correct certified and uncertified documents within stated time frames.

Because the Document Services Program is a revenue-producing function strongly tied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (PTO) Strategic initiatives and goals, it is a very dynamic program with frequent policy, procedural and systems changes. The contractor must be flexible and proactive to assure the contractor’s portions of the production pipeline are in synchronization with the PTO’s portions of that same pipeline as changes occur.

The Document Services Program is expected to remain dynamic throughout the life of this contract. Some anticipated directions of change include:

· Expansion of patent and trademark image stores as source documents, reducing the need for stand-alone systems and for maintenance of on-site source media storage. An example is the anticipated enhancement to include increasingly more incoming and outgoing papers of patent and trademark file wrappers in image stores, therefore increasing usage of image stores rather than paper file wrappers to produce documents to fill orders for newer file wrappers.

· Expand electronic certification and delivery of documents to include trademark applications and file wrappers. This expansion will reduce the need for human intervention in the processing of these orders and reduce the paper purchase and handling costs of the DSP.

· Upgrades and enhancements to CCC hardware and software that will increase customer use of the Internet to place and receive orders and improve CCC record keeping and order tracking capabilities. These upgrades and enhancements will reduce the need for data entry, some manual retrieval and manual report generation in the DSP.

· Increased acceptance and use of CD-ROM and expansion to DVD and other electronic technology as media for providing documents. This acceptance will reduce the paper purchase and handling costs of the DSP.

The primary goal of the Document Services Program is to provide the highest quality of products in the shortest possible time and in a format consistent with customer needs. Rapid increases in both technology and customer expectations require the USPTO to be constantly re-evaluating its own internal procedures and operations expectations. Rather than constantly changing operational guidelines for “timeliness”, the Public Records Division has established the following criteria as guidelines.

· Immediate/Expedited Service defined as providing priority placement in the queue so as to deliver the service as soon as possible.

· Same Day Response defined as providing the service prior to the close of the current business day.

· 24 Hour Response defined as providing the service within 24 business hours.

· Regular Response defined as “normal” processing, or providing the service as fast as normal operating permits.

Most, but not all, of the USPTO products/services provided through the Public Records Division have time responses associated with each service level. Most of those time responses depend upon the level of effort required to produce the product/service. In a similar way, the fee charged to the public for the various services is dependent upon the level of effort required by the USPTO to produce the product/service. From time to time, either from the aid of new technology or the simplification of procedures, the USPTO finds it appropriate to change the level of response time associated with each product/service. When this happens, the contractor will be notified.

Purpose

The purpose is to continue the program support of the work aforementioned above.

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