Examination and Attorney Assistant Examination Quality Review

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), under the Department of Commerce, is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) to conduct market research on artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) solutions for trademark examination and quality review operations. The procurement seeks vendors to provide FedRAMP-certified or FedRAMP-Ready cloud-based AI/ML solutions in two primary areas: Examination and Attorney Assistant (including search strategy suggestions, issue spotters for formalities and statutory compliance, identification/classification validation, and office action drafting and review capabilities) and Examination Quality Review (including automated search strategy review, issue spotting, office action review with trend analysis, and quality reporting with a review portal). Key requirements include transparent, explainable AI reasoning; integration with USPTO systems; trademark-specific expertise; and access to authoritative third-party sources for current and archived news content and legal resources specific to trademarks. The evaluation will assess vendors' corporate capabilities, prior relevant experience, technical approaches, and cost proposals, with submissions limited to specified page counts (five pages for corporate overview, three pages per experience example, eight pages for capabilities and approaches, and two pages for cost information). Critical deadlines include April 22, 2026, for submission of vendor questions and May 8, 2026, at 12 Noon EST for Stage One responses, with electronic submissions required to alan.elder@uspto.gov and bradley.beers@uspto.gov.

This RFI is market research only and does not constitute a commitment to contract, though the USPTO contemplates potential future use of the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act Alternative Competition Method. There is no incumbent contractor, as this represents a new requirement, and no estimated ceiling or budget has been established at this time. The USPTO has not yet determined whether to award to a single vendor across all solution areas or to separate vendors for individual or multiple components, with that decision to be made later in the procurement process. The multi-stage approach includes Stage Two concept papers and prototype demonstrations, Stage Three vendor selection for alternative competition, and Stage Four solicitation issuance and award. Vendors must be currently FedRAMP certified or actively pursuing FedRAMP certification; those without FedRAMP certification or pursuing certification are ineligible. All Stage One submissions become government property and will not be returned, with no reimbursement available for response costs.