Patent Legal Services

ATTACHMENT 1 PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT AND QASP Legal Support for Foreign Patent Services U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Office of Technology Transfer 1.0 GENERAL INFORMATION 1.1. Scope of Work 1.1.1 The prime contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and services necessary to provide legal support services as defined in this Performance Work Statement. 1.1.2 This is a performance-based requirement, the contractor shall perform to the requirements and standards as established by this PWS. The labor mix of employees to perform this requirement remains the discretion of the Contractor for all services. 1.1.3 All in scope requirements are Firm Fixed Price. This is not a Time and Materials requirement. 1.1.4 The contractor shall perform all work described in this Performance Work Statement in accordance with all applicable Federal, State, and local laws, regulations, and codes. 1.2. Background The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) require patent- related legal services from firms that provide patent services, (i.e. filing, prosecution and ancillary services including the payment of foreign filing, prosecution, and issue fees) attendant to filing and prosecuting patents and plant breeders rights in countries other than the United States. ARS will be the facilitator for this contract. The USDA has the authority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 207 and 15 U.S.C. 3710 to obtain and maintain patents or other forms of protection in the United States and foreign countries and to grant licenses in accordance with the regulations set forth in 37 C.F.R. Chapter IV as amended, there under to received fees, royalties or other revenues therefore, and to take all other suitable and necessary steps to protect and administer such rights. The efforts of the contractor are vital to protect USDA intellectual property that supports national security and mission critical research developed by USDA scientists in order to protect and improve the lives of Americans and American farmers and ranchers. These patents and applications help achieve the USDA’s goal of protecting America’s farmers and ranchers from invasive pests and diseases, including IP directed towards managing Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), New World Screwworm, Foot and Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV), African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV), and Citrus Greening Disease (Huanglongbing). Pursuant to the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (FTTA), ARS has implemented a technology transfer program that includes collaborative research agreements covering a wide variety of agricultural technologies that have high commercial potential to industry. -- 1 of 6 -- Applications could arise under these Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) or other such research agreements, which may be selected for foreign patent filing and prosecution. Over 250 CRADAs under the FTTA have been signed to date with over 2000 patent applications filed since 1987. Applications that did not arise under a CRADA could also have been selected for foreign patent filing and prosecution. In 2025, 16 patent cooperation treaty (PCT) applications were filed. Between 2024-2025, 31 national stage applications were filed corresponding to 12 different U.S. serial numbers. Similar activity is anticipated in 2026. 1.3 Invoicing and payment: 1.3.1 The "Submit Invoice-to" address for USDA orders is the Department of Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). 1.3.2 All invoices shall be submitted via the electronic Invoice Processing Platform. This is a mandatory requirement initiated by the U.S. Department of Treasury. More information is available at https://www.ipp.gov. The Department of Treasury is the point of contact for all IPP Collector account inquiries. 1.3.3. Payment is in arrears pursuant to the clause at FAR 52.212-4. Note FAR 52.212-4 (i)(1) Items accepted. 1.3.4. Payment will not be made for service in advance of delivery. 1.3.5. The invoice cycle shall be no less than monthly. 1.3.6. Advance invoice approval is not required, as required approval tiers exist in IPP. 1.4 Period of Performance: The period of performance (PoP) shall be for one (1) Base Year of 12 months and four (4) 12-month option years. 1.5 Place of Performance: Location determined by the Prime Contractor not outside of the United States. 2.0 DEFINITIONS 2.1 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) – An international application resulting in the retention of foreign patent rights in all PCT contracting states for a period of 30-31 months from the priority date. 6.1. CLIN – Contract Line Item, numbered. Established in the solicitation schedule, will start with “0001.” 2.2. Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)– USDA Employee Technical representative appointed by the Contracting Officer to monitor, evaluate, and communicate to the CO the Contractor’s performance in complying with contract requirements in an efficient and timely manner. 2.3. Privity of Contract - Contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the Prime Contractor, who, in turn, is responsible to the Government. For the purposes of this requirement, any reference to “contractor” is referring to the Prime Contractor. 2.4. Calendar Days- Every single day on the calendar (12 AM to 11:59 PM), including weekends, holidays, and non-working days. -- 2 of 6 -- 2.5. ‘Business Days’ – Standard business days 9AM to 4:30PM Eastern with holiday exceptions as noted: Listed below are official Government holidays: New Year’s Day January 1* Martin L. King Birthday Third Monday in January President's Day Third Monday in February Memorial Day Last Monday in May Juneteenth As Indicated Independence Day July 4* Labor Day First Monday in September Columbus Day Second Monday in October Veterans Day November 11* Thanksgiving Day Fourth Thursday in November Christmas Day December 25* Or when the USDA-ARS facility is closed due to local o…