Fraud Identification, Unsupervised AI, and Preventing Impersonations

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), an agency under the Department of Commerce, is seeking artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions to address three primary functional areas: fraud identification and suppression, detection of unsupervised AI and inaccurate case law citations, and prevention of impersonation scams targeting USPTO customers. Solutions must be FedRAMP-certified or FedRAMP-ready with transparent, explainable outputs that are not "black box" systems, comply with NIST 800-53 standards, and align with all federal security requirements and executive orders, with preference for American-built AI models. Key requirements include automating account monitoring to detect anomalous filing behavior, identifying high-risk trademark applications, validating attorney credentials across all state bar associations, detecting AI-generated specimens of use, and enabling customers to auto-validate communications from the USPTO. The evaluation process follows a four-stage approach beginning with an Industry Survey RFI (Stage One), followed by concept papers and prototype demonstrations (Stage Two), vendor selection under alternative competition (Stage Three), and formal solicitation and contract award (Stage Four), with vendors failing to respond to Stage One being eliminated from future stages. The deadline for questions regarding this RFI is 12 Noon EST on Monday, April 20, 2026, with Stage One responses due by 12 Noon EST on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, submitted electronically to Alan Elder and Bradley Beers.

This is a Pre-Solicitation Notice with no set-aside designation, representing a new requirement with no incumbent vendors currently providing these services. The USPTO processes approximately 700,000 new trademark applications annually and 300,000 post-registration submissions annually, with roughly 5,000 submissions per day and approximately 50 named users expected for the solution. Budget, contract duration, contract vehicle, and go-live date remain to be determined as the USPTO is conducting market research; however, the agency intends to award the contract during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026 or the first quarter of fiscal year 2027. Vendors may propose solutions addressing individual functional areas or integrated solutions covering all three areas, and Stage Two will include prototype demonstrations using sample data provided by the Trademarks division with vendors establishing their own sandbox environments. All RFI submissions become government property without reimbursement of response costs, and the USPTO is not obligated to issue a future solicitation based on responses received.