USPTO AIRFI Final.pdf

AUTOMATED SOLUTIONS (INCLUDING

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE) FOR USPTO

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION &

NOTICE OF VENDOR ENGAGEMENT

June 4, 2025

Contents I. Introduction & Submission Instructions II. Attachments

I. Introduction & Submission Instructions

The USPTO’s mission is to grant timely and durable patents, register timely and reliable trademarks, and advance intellectual property (IP) policies that foster innovation and creativity to promote the progress of science and useful arts. Through the Secretary of Commerce, the USPTO advises the President of the United States and U.S. government agencies on IP policy, protection, and enforcement; and promotes stronger and more effective IP protection around the world.

In furtherance of its statutory missions, the USPTO will be acquiring significant new artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in the coming months to assist patent examiners and trademark examining attorneys as well as reduce patent and trademark pendency. The USPTO is seeking American industry partners motivated to help improve the patent and trademark examination processes and fuel a national transformation of AI infrastructure with the goal of reducing application backlogs and protecting applicant data from domestic and foreign IP theft. The Agency seeks to broaden its understanding of the commercial marketplace in order to increase the efficiency of the patent examination process by the use of additional low or no cost AI-based tools that can assist in the completion of specific examination-related tasks, thereby ensuring consistency of the work product.

The USPTO is interested in innovative tools or solutions that meet the constraints and objectives outlined in Attachment 2, USPTO AI Draft Requirement. The USPTO does not want to limit responses exclusively to AI tools, so in addition, please provide any and all Information Technology (IT) solutions that could improve efficiency in the patent and trademark examining processes. Some examples of solutions include IT improvements, robotic process automation (RPA) bot development/usage, new code, or ideas to improve current processes. The USPTO intends to maintain sole rights to all proprietary data, source code, models, simulations, technologies, data rights (to include search criteria and search results), and/or any other related IP developed or accessed related to, or resulting from, this RFI. Vendors will be expected to provide the infrastructure for the models, to include the compute, storage, and networking assets/capabilities (within the USPTO designed secure Cloud boundary). The selected vendor must be willing to receive consideration that is primarily non-monetary. Benefits to the vendor include its ability to display and market its capabilities, and the ability to fulfill a critical US Government technology gap on the world stage.

This Request for Information (RFI) is intended as preliminary market information gathering which the USPTO may use to determine which vendor(s) is/are the most likely to successfully meet the USPTO’s needs at low or no cost and are thereby eligible to participate in an alternative competition. As a result of this market research, any potential solicitation may be issued to only a limited number of qualified vendor(s). Vendors that do not respond to the RFI may not be considered for the alternative competition and may not be eligible to compete as a prime offeror.

If a potential contract develops from this RFI, the USPTO contemplates utilizing the Alternative Competition Method in accordance with the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(4)(A).

This RFI is not a solicitation and does not constitute a request for quotation or proposal. There is no USPTO commitment or implied agreement or understanding as a result of any Government action or inaction taken in response to the RFI or the accompanying documents. Telephone calls requesting information will not be accepted or acknowledged. Participation in this effort is strictly voluntary. No entitlement to payment will arise as a result of submission of a response to the RFI. Any cost for submission of responses or associated activities are at the interested respondent’s risk and expense. The USPTO is not liable for costs (direct or indirect) associated with the preparation, submission, or responses to this RFI, including any costs associated with the meetings, follow-on questions or additional requests for information, if any. The USPTO will not reimburse respondents for any costs incurred with responding to the RFI. Should a solicitation or request for proposals follow this RFI, submissions will be limited solely to US-based companies/entities/individuals registered in SAM.gov at the time of proposal submission.

This RFI consists of the questions outlined below. Additional information can be found in the submission instructions section of this RFI:

1. What service or product/solution are you interested in providing to satisfy the requirements in Attachment 2, Objective #1 at low or no cost to the government or in exchange for non-monetary consideration?

2. Please describe any innovative tools or solutions, especially AI-based tools or solutions, you have developed that could assist in the comprehensive search and analysis of prior art as specified in Attachment 2, Objective #1.

3. What specific system or IT compatibility requirements would benefit your overall understanding, especially those that would be required to integrate your solution with the USPTO's existing systems?

4. Discuss your willingness to provide a solution(s) at low or no cost or in exchange for non-monetary considerations. If a low-cost solution or non-monetary benefit is of interest, describe how you/your organization defines low-cost and what non-monetary benefit might be of interest.

5. What is the estimated timeline for integrating your proposed solution? Provide a high-level outline of the key milestones and deliverables.

6. What automation will be used to incorporate user feedback into the development and improvement of your solution(s)?

7. What alternative acquisition methods do you suggest the USPTO consider that fall outside of traditional FAR-based contracts or agreements?

The USPTO reserves the right to conduct one-on-one market research sessions with any of the RFI respondent(s), if needed.

Submission Instructions

RFI respondents shall complete RFI Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template, in its entirety.

Completion of the RFI Response Template includes:

a) Completion of the “Corporate Profile” tab. Please note that “Business Size Status,” refers to the prospective prime contractor. Respondents shall indicate whether their company is

“small” or “other than small” under NAICS 541512, Computer Systems Design Services.

NAICS 541512 has a size standard of $34 million.

b) Completion of responses for all RFI questions #1-7 (see tabs titled, “Response to Q.1-7”).

Note, the models and services shall meet the definition of commercial products and services as defined in FAR Part 2. Respondents that do not submit a response to this RFI may be precluded from participation in any future solicitations related to this requirement.

The Government reserves the right to contact the point of contact included in RFI Attachment 1

– RFI Response Template, at its discretion.

Questions regarding this RFI shall be submitted via email to USPTOAIRFI@uspto.gov, using the following email subject format: “USPTO AI RFI Questions - Company Name”. Questions are due no later than 10:00 a.m. Eastern on June 10, 2025. Questions shall be submitted via RFI Attachment 3 – Question and Answer Sheet. Questions not submitted in the required format may be disregarded in their entirety. The USPTO is not obligated to respond to any questions received in response to this RFI.

All final RFI responses shall be submitted via email to USPTOAIRFI@uspto.gov, using the following email subject format: “USPTO AI RFI Response - Company Name”. RFI responses are due no later than 10:00 a.m. Eastern on June 17, 2025. RFI submissions shall include a completed Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template only. Please do not submit additional marketing materials or other unsolicited information, as they will not be considered.

Proprietary information submitted in response to this RFI will be protected from unauthorized disclosure as required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). In the RFI submission email, vendors shall clearly identify any RFI Attachment 1 tabs that contain proprietary information.

II. Attachments A. RFI Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template B. RFI Attachment 2 – USPTO AI Draft Requirement C. RFI Attachment 3 – Question and Answer Sheet D. RFI Attachment 4 – Representative Technology Stack

II. Attachments