LICENSING AND TRADEMARK AUDIT & IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT

Texas Southern University (TSU), acting on behalf of the State of Texas, is seeking qualified firms to provide Licensing and Trademark Audit & Implementation Support under solicitation number 717-26-744, with proposals due by April 29, 2026. The scope of work centers on conducting a comprehensive audit of TSU’s trademark and licensing portfolio, developing a strategic filing roadmap aligned with USPTO standards, creating a formal licensing program framework with policy guides and standard agreement templates, and delivering stakeholder training materials and sessions. Performance is expected to occur in Texas over a phased implementation period estimated at 2 to 6 months, with all deliverables subject to inspection and acceptance by TSU personnel at the destination upon delivery. Proposals must be submitted in person at the TSU Purchasing Office in Hannah Hall, Room 333, in both paper and flash drive formats, with electronic submissions explicitly prohibited. Evaluation will follow a best-value trade-off methodology, prioritizing experience and methodology each at 25%, qualifications and references at 15% each, and pricing and delivery schedule for reasonableness and alignment, with no formal weight assigned to cost. Specific technical sub-factors under methodology include trademark audit, risk assessment, brand alignment, licensing program development, and trademark filing strategy. Offerors must comply with custom contractual provisions derived from Texas Government Code rather than standard FAR clauses, including mandatory disclosures around felony convictions, anti-discrimination, non-retaliation, indemnification, insurance, and termination for cause. Additional requirements include cybersecurity training for key personnel, secure erasure of hard drives, a seven-year records retention obligation, and reporting of certain relationships with TSU employees or state officials. Offerors must also affirmatively disclose any foreign ownership ties to designated countries, financial interests involving TSU leadership, or connections to former state executives within the past four years. Compliance with House Bill 1295 necessitates submission of a Certificate of Interested Parties to the Texas Ethics Commission upon award. No contract value is specified, and no FOB terms, MIL-STD packaging, or electronic invoicing systems are mandated, though invoices must include the TSU purchase order number and be submitted in duplicate. The award will be made based on a balance of technical merit and cost to achieve optimal value for the university and the State of Texas, with the possibility of Best and Final Offer requests prior to contract execution.