The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Office of the Commissioner for Patents has a requirement for initial classification of unpublished patent applications and reclassification of published patent applications and grants as well as services for researching document classifications in order to meet the USPTO mission which is the examination, granting and dissemination of Patents and Trademarks.

The Contractor shall furnish the necessary personnel, material, equipment, services, and facilities (except as otherwise provided or specified) to perform initial classification of unpublished patent applications and reclassification of published patent applications and grants, and services for researching document classifications.  Quality must be clearly recognized as a vital and mandatory requirement of this contract and the contractor must be capable of anticipating changes in the industry standard and evolve with the organization as it is anticipated that specific requirements will change over the life of this contract.  Specifically, 2015 marked the elimination of the requirement for USPTO staff to classify into the USPC classification system as the USPTO continued the transition to the use of the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system as the primary means for classification and retrieval of patent documentation.   This transition has also driven the requirement, as specified in this document, for future classification activities to be performed at the "expert" classification level. 

The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 541990 (All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services), proposed Federal Supply Code (FSC) is B599 (Other Special Studies & Analyses), and Small Business Size Standard is $15,000,000.00.  Estimated ceiling amount is $125 million.

This requirement was publicized on March 04^th, 2015 using a Request for Information notice posted at www.fbo.gov and the results indicate that only a limited number of qualified vendors are most likely to successfully meet the agency's needs under the stated scope of services.

As a result of the USPTO's exemption from the Competition in Contracting Act, the subject requirement is being procured using the Alternate Competition Method in accordance with the Patent and Trademark Office Acquisition Guidelines Subpart 6.1.1 and the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act 35 U.S.C. §2(b)(4)(A) and as a result, the solicitation shall only be issued to the limited number of qualified vendors.

The anticipated award date is August 7^th, 2015 and the base period of performance is August 7, 2015 through August 6, 2016.

This notice is not a request for competitive proposals.