Air Force Intellectual Property Docketing SaaS

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION for Air Force Intellectual Property Docketing Software as a Service Contracting Office Address: Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO)-Scott/PL8413. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) NOTICE ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP). NO SOLICITATION IS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. 1. Description: The United States Air Force (USAF) is conducting this Request for Information (RFI) for a commercial off the shelf (COTS) to support an Intellectual Property Docketing solution. 2. Scope of Effort To successfully deploy and utilize a COTS SaaS capability to enable inventors, support patent personnel, and patent attorneys, as well as trademark professionals at Air Force to enter invention disclosures, write patent applications, and track progress of patent and trademark filings through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) during prosecution and registration/issuance, such that the USAF user community and leadership will have real-time insight---for the first time ever---into the AF patent and trademark portfolio. Such insight will allow USAF to timely report status to the Department of Defense (DoD), as well as allow Air Force leadership and research office directors to make timely decisions concerning effectiveness of allocation of resources to these activities. 3. Technical Characteristics SECURITY The software system must securely store and mange personally identifiable information (PII), (inventors name, address, personal email), controlled unclassified information (i.e. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) restricted), and attorney-client privileged information. To meet the security requirements, the software system must be hosted in a cloud environment that has a DoD Provisional Authorization to Operate (PATO) for Data Impact Level 4. This includes access control via DoD Common Access Card (CAC)/Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificates or Alt Token/PKI, and managing user rights/access privileges (for various user groups Government and contractor inventors, AF attorneys, outside attorneys, tech transfer personnel, etc.). The selected product does not need an Authority To Operate (ATO) at time of award, but must be hosted in a cloud environment that already has a DoD PATO for Impact Level 4 so that those artifacts can be used as part of the assessment. WORKFLOW The user interface shall be intuitive and easily configurable to map to Air Force workflows. System administrators should be able to easily create Patent Docketing workflows according to Air Force regulations. In some cases, the software tool will need to include outside patent counsel in private law firms. The software tool shall enable administrators to easily configure the software to track and manage cases that involve outside counsel. AUTO-DOCKETING The software tool shall integrate Private PAIR functionality with daily updates from the USPTO. All documents from the image file wrapper shall be imported into the software tool, made searchable (via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) or similar methods), and usable to automated docketing and de-docketing actions. These docketing and e-docketing actions shall be configured based on administrator's rules, and trigger automatic reminders, alerts, feeds, or actions for any case file. SCALABILITY Initially, less than 100 users from various AF locations would be using the system for docketing and technology transfer related tasks. However, the system must include an inventor portal that allows any government or contractor with CAC access to submit a new invention disclosure. 500 case files could be stored and managed in the system during the pilot phase, and an additional 2,000 case files and Intellectual Property (IP) could be added in full scale implementation. Support and training shall be provided in person and delivered using remote and on-demand tools (i.e. webinars, video conferencing, etc.) REPORTING The software must provide the ability to generate a range of reports by attorney, by office, by command, and overall AF on data entered into the system. Report generation (standard and customizable) will include multiple sort, selection criteria, and printing options. Ideally will support generation of customized reports. The software tool must also provide search capabilities to include most data fields with advanced search capabilities (e.g. global keyword search). The software tool shall not only store and provide reports on invention disclosures, patent applications, patents, and trademarks, but also include the complete case file, USPTO office actions, relevant correspondence, USPTO filings and responses, as well as related patent and trademark license agreements. Requested Information: Responses must specifically describe the contractor's capability to meet the requirements outlined in this RFI. Additionally, the respondents shall submit commercial pricing for the cost of system setup, maintenance, software, support, and hosting/sustainment. Response Guidelines: This RFI is encouraging responses from any qualified and capable sources, including Small Businesses, Service Disabled-Veteran Owned Small Businesses, Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, Women-owned Small Businesses, HUBZone Small Businesses, Small Disadvantaged Small Businesses, Small Business Joint Ventures, Consortiums and Teaming Partners. Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a white paper. Submissions cannot exceed 12 pages, single spaced, 12-point type with at least one-inch margins on 8 1/2" X 11" page size. The response should not exceed a 5 MB e-mail limit for all items associated with the RFI response. Responses must specifically describe the contractor's capability to meet the requirements outlined in this RFI. Oral communications are not permissible. FedBizOpps will be the sole repository for all information related to this RFI. Companies who wish to respond to this RFI should send responses via email no later than September 5, 2018 at 9:00 am central standard time to cody.r.seelhoefer.civ@mail.mil Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Industry Discussions: DISA representatives may choose to meet with potential offerors and hold one-on-one discussions. Such discussions would only be intended to obtain further clarification of potential capability to meet the requirements, including any development and certification risks. Questions: Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to cody.r.seelhoefer.civ@mail.mil. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Answers to questions may be posted to FBO. The Government will not reimburse companies for any costs associated with the submissions of their responses Disclaimer: This RFI is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals nor will any award be made as a result of this synopsis. All information contained in the RFI is preliminary as well as subject to modification and is in no way binding on the Government. FAR clause 52.215-3, "Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes", is incorporated by reference in this RFI. The Government does not intend to pay for information received in response to this RFI. Responders to this invitation are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. This RFI will be the basis for collecting information on capabilities available. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received in this RFI that is marked "Proprietary" will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned nor will receipt be confirmed. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.