Patent and Trademark Office awards search support contracts
Gettyimages.com / Nora Carol Photography
By
Ross Wilkers
The agency is looking to fulfill its obligations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty that involves around 150 other countries.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded a pair of potential five-year contracts to help produce international search reports and written opinions on applications to obtain patents.
CPA Global's contract has a $267.4 million ceiling, while the award to Cardinal Intellectual Property has a maximum value of $271.3 million. USPTO announced those awards in a pair of Sam.gov notices Thursday.
USPTO sought industry support to help it manage approximately 22,000 international patent applications per year as the agency works to full its part of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, which the U.S. and close to 150 countries have signed onto.
One PCT application goes into a single receiving office in that language, which then results in a search carried out by an international searching authority that supports a written opinion regarding eligibility for a patent.
USPTO assigns contractors to provide those search reports in certain technology areas in order to ensure the reviews take place in a timely manner.
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