SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Support Services to Assist the DoN Intellectual Property (IP) Program
- Notice Date
- 2/20/2009
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 541110
— Offices of Lawyers
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research, ONR, CODE ONR-02, 875 North Randolph St., Suite 1425, Arlington, Virginia, 22203-1995
- ZIP Code
- 22203-1995
- Solicitation Number
- N00014-09-Q-0011
- Archive Date
- 3/25/2009
- Point of Contact
- Kenesha Hargrave,, Phone: 7036965345, Vera G Carroll,, Phone: 703-696-2610
- E-Mail Address
-
kenesha.y.hargrave@navy.mil, carrolv@onr.navy.mil
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This solicitation constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This solicitation, N00014-09-Q-0011, is issued as a Request for Quote (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2001-09 and DFARS Change Notice 20020730. The associated North American Industry classification System (NAICS) code is 541110 and small business size standard is $7.0 million. This is a 100% small business set-aside. The Department of the Navy (DoN), Office of Naval Research (ONR), located in Arlington, Virginia, was established to plan, foster, and encourage scientific research and technology development as related to the development and maintenance of future naval power and the preservation of national security. Within the Department of the Navy (DoN) Office of General Counsel (OGC) framework, the DoN Intellectual Property (IP) attorneys working in the ONR Office of Counsel (00CC) (Code BDCC)) are responsible for providing timely advice and counsel on all areas of IP affecting the development, use, and life cycle maintenance of all Navy ships, aircraft, satellites, and other weapons systems being used or supported by the DoN or its foreign strategic partners including the review of relevant potential inventions, ideas, or solutions to technological problems. Moreover, in support of the DoN’s and ONR’s mission and objectives, the Office of Counsel focuses on providing both legal services and non-legal assistance including contract-invention surveillance, conducting basic legal research related to licensing regulations, prepare reports and correspondence related to basic legal issues, and other IP support services. 1.0 Background: The Office of Counsel seeks support relating to aspects of the DoN Intellectual Property (IP) Program. Specifically, the Office of Counsel is seeking support services to assist IP Counsel in the enterprise-wide responsibility related to acquiring rights in technology, including identifying and perfecting rights in technology, assistance in administering DON licensing program, assist in royalty distribution memoranda’s, and processing royalty revenue, and managing contractual and contested matters, including litigation related to IP rights in technology. The Contractor shall provide program management and support services that shall include, but not limited to, contract (or other agreement) evaluation, classification, and compliance monitoring with respect to patent rights, licensing, and providing assistance to ONR IP attorneys. The Intellectual Property (IP) Counsel is responsible for setting policy and procedures for the enterprise-wide DON IP mission, and for executing certain IP programs within the Office of Naval Research, and Office of Counsel. These policies, procedures and programs are primarily directed toward securing Department of Navy’s IP rights in technology in order to defend the DON against allegations of infringement of the IP rights of others. Identifying and securing these rights may take place in the context of IP rights investigations conducted during the formation and execution of DON contracts, as well as during contested matters, such as litigation related to IP rights. A subset of the DON enterprise-wide program is to conduct IP rights investigations in order to identify the sources of DON rights in IP; and to perfect such rights, as appropriate, including acquiring licenses in such rights. It is essential to perform these investigations and analyses in solicitations, contracts and grants on both a pre-award and post-award basis. The scope of these investigations include all aspects of analysis, research, document production, cataloging, routine contacts with outside parties and related activities necessary to prospectively secure IP rights. Additionally, IP rights analysis is conducted as a pre-emptive defensive action to prevent or minimize allegations of infringement, thereby avoiding costly litigation. Research and analysis related to IP rights in contested matters, such as litigation, may become very complex, but it is also a necessary and routine requirement in executing the DON’s IP mission. As a result, support service to IP Counsel is required to assist in securing IP rights in technology and matters related to DON’s enterprise-wide responsibilities and those specifically involving ONR. These responsibilities include prospectively conducting investigations to identify and perfect the IP rights of the DON in new or existing contracts; analyzing previous IP rights investigations both prior to litigation and during litigation in order to defend the DON against allegations of infringement of the IP rights of others; and in the related aspects of general support during IP litigation. The general support during litigation related to IP rights may include assisting and interacting with the Department of Justice as required. 2.0 Requirements:The Contractor shall perform the following tasks: (1) The Contractor shall research and analyze solicitations, grants, and contracts related to research funded by the DON for issues involving IP rights, including reviewing documents for IP assertions by contractors; (2) The Contractor shall establish and maintain an invention surveillance monitoring program to assist in ensuring that ONR receives proper invention notification; (3) The Contractor shall establish and maintain records and files including electronic file of contracts and agreements being monitored; (4) The Contractor shall establish and maintain relationships with appropriate ONR Scientific Officers, Contracting Officers, and with the Research Contractor point(s) of contact; (5) The Contractor shall investigate research including, but not limited to, conducting interviews and reviewing technical reports and other relevant information in order to monitor the progress of each contract and agreement under surveillance; (6) The Contractor shall assist in preparation of royalty distribution memorandums, enter royalty review information into a financial information system; (7) The Contractor shall receive, enter, and track data related to license processing and royalty revenue, and produce related reports; (8) The Contractor shall conduct basic legal research related licensing regulations; (9) The Contractor shall prepare and provide training presentations to Program personnel on an as-needed basis. Training shall cover, but not limited to, the following topics: Standard IP clauses, in both contracts and agreements, relevant research performer obligations; and other IP- related issues; (10) The Contractor shall research and analysis of publicly available documents on file with the US Patent and Trademark Office and international patent offices related to patents, patent applications and trademark registrations; (11) The Contractor shall research and analyze internal DON databases and resources for tracking IP rights; (12) The Contractor shall prepare reports that include the status of DON IP rights in solicitations, grants, contracts, etc., as determined by research; (13) The Contractor shall prepare letters and documents to outside researchers and contractors related to determining and perfecting DON’s IP rights; (14) The Contractor shall assist attorneys in the research and drafting of internal and external analyses and reports related to issues impacting the DON’s rights in IP; (15) The Contractor shall research and analyze DON IP rights before contested matters commence; (16) The Contractor shall research and analyze DON IP rights in contested matters such as administrative claims and litigation; (17) The Contractor shall research, analyze, compile, and catalog of documents as typically required in contested matters such as litigation, including answering and preparing requests for IP discovery; (18) The Contractor shall research and track important tasks and due dates in contested matters such as litigation. (19) The Contractor shall assist in efficiently executing its IP mission by establishing and maintaining records and files including electronic files for tracking and updating the status of projects and tasks as directed. (20) The Contractor shall provide other IP or IP-related assistance to the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) on an as-needed basis, such as litigation support in court cases and appeals. (21)The Contractor shall assist attorneys in reviewing documents, including financial and accounting records provided in electronic or any other format. Recognizing issues related to IP data rights and proprietary assertions preferred. (22) The Contractor shall provide other IP or IP-related assistance on an as-needed basis. This assistance may include litigation support in any cases or appeals involving IP matters. (23) The Contractor shall participate in the development of electronic or web-based training materials in the areas of IP rights, litigation procedures and electronic discovery. 3.0 Reporting: The Contractor shall provide monthly/quarterly financial status reports to the Contracting Officer Representative (COR), or designee, as required. The monthly/quarterly financial status report shall include a breakdown of costs incurred during the month, the number of man hours expended, man hours remaining, total dollars invoiced, total dollars remaining, total expenditures to date, and costs to complete. The Contractor shall provide annual status reports to include project status reports, technology acquisition status reports, litigation status reports and other related reports as required. The Contractor shall create and provide related database reports as required. The Intellectual Property (IP) Legal Support Services Report shall contain the annual statistics of open and closed IP litigation/investigation requests. The Contractor shall provide reports that include the status of DON IP rights in solicitations, grants, contracts, etc., as determined by research (electronic or any other format). The monthly/financial status reports are due on the 15th of each month. The Quarterly Financial Status Reports are due no later than three (3) months after contract award and every three (3) months thereafter. Delivery and acceptance of reports is F.O.B. Destination to the Program Officer at the Office of Naval Research, 875 North Randolph Street, Arlington, VA 22203. 4.0 Personnel Qualifications: The offeror shall propose qualified personnel to manage and execute all aspects of the requirement as follows: (1) Proposed personnel should have a paralegal certificate, J.D. degree or equivalent training and work experience is required. The Contractor shall provide two (2) individuals on a full-time basis to perform the required duties. Proposed personnel must have at least five (5) years of paralegal work experience supporting commercial transactional litigation which may be considered as equivalent training or work experience as referred to above. Proposed personnel must have one (1) year experience conducting basic legal research; (3) demonstrated an understanding of events in commercial transactional litigation in US courts and administrative agencies; (4) experience preparing requests and answers in discovery proceedings; (5) experience organizing documents produced and received in discovery proceedings; (6) experience using computers and automated software such as Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint); (7) experience with electronic discovery and electronic discovery database systems typically used in commercial, transactional litigation such as InfoDox, Concordance or Summation. (8) experience should include coding of databases and generation of reports; (9) ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing; (10) ability to act independently; to conduct research in all typical media, including the internet; (11) ability to learn new areas of law and practice efficiently and thoroughly to exercise attention to detail; (12) experience in litigation before one or more of the federal courts or boards; (13) experience in the use of the Infodox e-discovery system; (14) experience in IP litigation; and (15) experience in litigation before one or more of the federal Boards of Contract Appeals. The offerors’ resumes shall outline qualifications and relevant work experience. Offeror’s are encouraged to submit numerous resumes for individuals that meet the qualifications. 5.0 Period of Performance: The period of performance will be from the effective date of the purchase order through twelve (12) months thereafter. The award will also include four (4) twelve (12) month option periods. The Government intends to competitively award a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract that represents the best value to the Government.The Government estimate for this effort is approximately $231,000.00 per year, although lower and higher proposals will be considered. The process will consists of submission of proposals, evaluation of proposals (technical and costs), and interviews via phone and/or on-site at the Office of Naval Research located at 875 North Randolph Street, Arlington, VA 22203. If an Offeror does not submit a proposal, it is not eligible to participate in the rest of the process. The purpose of the phone/on-site interview is to give the Government the opportunity to determine: (1) if the Contractor clearly understands the requirement, (2) the proposed individuals understanding of Intellectual Property (IP) Legal Support policies and procedures; (3) the individuals’ background in IP legal support service to IP Counsel in security; and (4) IP rights in technology and matters related to Department of Navy’s enterprise-wide responsibilities. Any Offeror whose proposal is selected for personnel interviews will be notified by e-mail no less than three (3) business days prior to the commencement of the interviews. Interviews are tentatively scheduled for the week of 3 March 2009. Award is anticipated by mid-April 2009. 6.0 Submission of Proposals: Responses to this synopsis/solicitation shall include: (1) Technical proposal; (2) Cost proposal; (3) Completed Representations and Certification in accordance with FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications--Commercial Items and DFARs 252.212-7000 Offeror Representations and Certifications--Commercial Items., which are available electronically at: http://heron.nrl.navy.mil/contracts/repsandcerts.htm, and the offeror must complete the ONR specific representations and certifications found at http://www.onr.navy.mil/02/rep_cert.asp; and (4) An affirmation that it has an active registration on the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), which is at the website www.ccr.gov. The clauses at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items, FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items and FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive Orders--Commercial Items, apply to this acquisition. The additional clauses cited within the last clause cited are applicable: 52.203-6, 52.219-4, 52.219-8, 52.222-3, 52.222-19, 52.222-21, 52.222-26, 52.222-35, 52.222-36, 52.222-37, 52.222-39, 52.225-13, and 52.232-33. The DFARs clause at 252.212-7001, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders Applicable to Defense Acquisitions of Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. The additional clauses cited within this clause are applicable: 52.203-3 and 252.232-7003. The following additional FAR and DFARs clauses apply: 52.204-7 Central Contractor Registration, FAR 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (insert “1 day”, during the performance period” for the notice in paragraph (a) and five (5) years in paragraph (c)), FAR 52.233-3, Protest After Award (AUG 1996) and 252.204-7004 Alternate A. 7.0 Technical/Cost Proposal:Information for the technical portion shall be a separate and segregable document from the cost proposal. No cost information should be included in the technical section. The length of the technical proposal shall not exceed five (5) pages, exclusive of resumes. The resumes should be no more than two (2) pages each and there are no page limitations. There is no limit on the number of resumes an Offeror can provide. The technical proposal should be written and organized to be compatible with the requirements outlined in this solicitation, company’s organization and accounting structure, and proposed cost. The technical proposal should include the Offeror’s understanding of and approach to the requirement, and resumes of proposed personnel. The Offeror should explain how the quality and timeliness of work performance will be supervised and controlled; and how the Offeror will coordinate with the program office. The Offeror should include information relative to previous efforts for the same or similar services provided in the past five (5) years. Work experience shall include services supporting commercial transactional litigation in addition to the educational requirements stated in this solicitation. The Offeror should submit a cost proposal that identifies the labor category, associated hours, and hourly rate. All quotes must include a cost breakout for the base year and each individual option year. The level of effort is 1,840 hours per person. Each employee of a successful Offeror chosen to provide support services at ONR will be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) prior to commencing work under this Order. The supervisor/manager of the proposed personnel will also be required to sign the NDA on behalf of the Contractor. 8.0 Evaluation Criteria: In order to determine which offeror represents the best overall value, offers will be evaluated in accordance with the following evaluation criteria: (1) Technical - Proposed Personnel, Offeror’s Understands of the Requirement, and Past Performance. (2) Price/Costs. *Technical and price/costs are of equal importance. However, the Government reserves the right to make multiple awards to the responsible offeror whose offer represents the best value to the Government. For instance, an award could be made to Company A for one (1) person and another award could be made to Company B for one (1) person to support the ONR IP Legal Counsel. Questions should be emailed to Contract Specialist Kenesha Y. Hargrave at kenesha.y.hargrave@navy.mil. Proposals must be submitted no later than 2:00 p.m. Standard Daylight Time (SDT) on 10 March 2009. The Contract Specialist must receive any questions concerning the RFQ no later than three (3) business days before the response date of this solicitation. The package should be marked with the solicitation number, due date, and Attention: Ms. Kenesha Y. Hargrave. The mailing address to which proposals shall be sent is the Office of Naval Research, 875 North Randolph Street, Suite W1274, Arlington, VA 22203. The U.S. Postal Service continues to irradiate letters, flats, Express and Priority Mail with stamps for postage and other packages destine to government agencies. Due to potential delays in receiving mail, Offerors are encouraged to use alternatives to the mail, such as delivery services, when submitting proposals. Offerors may also hand-deliver their proposals at the mailing address above, provided they pre-arrange a time and date prior to the closing of the solicitation with the Contract Specialist, Kenesha Y. Hargrave at (703) 696-5345. No e-mailed or faxed proposals will be accepted.
- Web Link
-
FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=62ccb6cae44f5384e4fbf3f90fbf4294&tab=core&_cview=1)
- Record
- SN01754719-W 20090222/090220220204-62ccb6cae44f5384e4fbf3f90fbf4294 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |