[Patentcenter] missing from the announcement (was Fwd: Coming soon: USPTO’s new modernized assignment system is replacing ETAS and EPAS)

Randall Svihla rsvihla at nsiplaw.com
Sun Nov 12 14:35:49 UTC 2023 

What's so special about the USPTO that they get to use this bizarre process where they get to decide who is eligible to bid on the contract?  Yes, I know it's authorized by The Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act, but why?

The protest was not just by Ascendant  It was also by CGI Federal, who had already performed over $100 million of work on similar software for the USPTO and was not selected as one of the companies that was eligible to bid on the contract.  One wonders if CGI Federal had done a crappy job, or had done a better job than the USPTO wanted and pushed back on their rush to release a crappy product?

Best regards,

Randall S. Svihla
NSIP Law
Washington, D.C.


From: Patentcenter <patentcenter-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com> On Behalf Of Sandra L Etherton via Patentcenter
Sent: Saturday, November 11, 2023 9:02 PM
To: patentcenter at oppedahl-lists.com
Cc: Sandra L Etherton <sandra at ethertonlaw.com>; 'David Boundy' <DavidBoundyEsq at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Patentcenter] missing from the announcement (was Fwd: Coming soon: USPTO’s new modernized assignment system is replacing ETAS and EPAS)

There wasn’t a competitive process. The USPTO is exempt from that. I attach here:


  *   PTO acquisition guidelines.
  *   A GAO decision on a protest by Ascendant for the initial RFI. Protests are common on prime contracts but this was eye-opening for me.

“ USPTO is exempt from the Competition in Contracting Act under the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act, 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(4)(A)

  *   A list of the companies that made the cut for determining who would build the systems
  *   Some details on the Steampunk contract. I can’t actually find the prime contract, but my experience is that you can’t get it without a FOIA request.

Makes one wonder…

Sandra


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From: Patentcenter [mailto:patentcenter-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com] On Behalf Of Jeff Lindsay via Patentcenter
Sent: Saturday, November 11, 2023 6:43 PM
To: users of Patentcenter <patentcenter at oppedahl-lists.com>
Cc: Jeff Lindsay <jeff at jefflindsay.com>; David Boundy <DavidBoundyEsq at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Patentcenter] missing from the announcement (was Fwd: Coming soon: USPTO’s new modernized assignment system is replacing ETAS and EPAS)

Is SteamPunk also doing the IPAS programming? I assume that this big project also falls under the $2 billion BOSS contract that SteamPunk received (though there seems to be no mention of SteamPunk in any announcement from the USPTO — did I miss something?). Does anybody know about the open, transparent, competitive process that led to the selection of SteamPunk? Anyone seen the RFP that was used? I’m just curious.

Jeff Lindsay
jeff at jefflindsay.com<mailto:jeff at jefflindsay.com>
+1 920-257-7347




On Nov 9, 2023, at 3:14 PM, David Boundy via Patentcenter <patentcenter at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:patentcenter at oppedahl-lists.com>> wrote:

At lest in my view, that view could easily hold water.  I have no allegiance to one or the other.  I don't care that much about 90% of the differences.

What I DO care about is COMPLETENESS and RELIABILITY.  Get the new software WORKING RELIABLY (and fix the really stupid stuff, like the haphazard use of "application" vs "submission" -- that kind of amateur hour stuff leaves me in fear that lots of other things are done imprecisely and incompetently), and I'll switch happily and immediately.

On Thu, Nov 9, 2023 at 4:07 PM Alan Taboada via Patentcenter <patentcenter at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:patentcenter at oppedahl-lists.com>> wrote:
I think the USPTO folks consider themselves above and beyond all that.  I think someone read a bit too much into the following quote attributed to Steve Jobs:

Some people say, “Give the customers what they want.” But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse!'" People don't know what they want until you show it to them. That's why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.

I would say the folks at the USPTO in charge of customer-facing electronic systems is definitely doing that… with the exception of our failing to appreciate that what we are being showed is what we actually want.



From: Patentcenter <patentcenter-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:patentcenter-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com>> On Behalf Of Carl Oppedahl via Patentcenter
Sent: Thursday, November 9, 2023 3:54 PM
To: users of Patentcenter <patentcenter at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:patentcenter at oppedahl-lists.com>>
Cc: Carl Oppedahl <carl at oppedahl.com<mailto:carl at oppedahl.com>>
Subject: [Patentcenter] missing from the announcement (was Fwd: Coming soon: USPTO’s new modernized assignment system is replacing ETAS and EPAS)

Conspicuously absent from this announcement about the "son of EPAS/ETAS" system is any hint or suggestion of any of the following:

  *   any effort to ask users what features they are looking for in the "son of EPAS/ETAS" system;
  *   any commitment to ensuring that all of the functionalities of the EPAS/ETAS systems will be carried forward into the "son of EPAS/ETAS" system (I am thinking for example of the image preview that shows what the halftoning would give you);
  *   any indication that alpha or beta testing by actual users took place;
  *   any indication of planning for a beta testing interval between now and launch day;
  *   any commitment that the legacy systems would remain in operation for some amount of time after the launch of the "son of EPAS/ETAS" system, to permit continued use of the legacy systems if against all odds there turns out to be some defect in the newly launched "son of EPAS/ETAS" system;
  *   any presentation (for example with screen shots or mock-ups) that shows what the "son of EPAS/ETAS" is going to look like.
These things were also conspicuously absent from any of the previous announcements about the "son of EPAS/ETAS" system.


-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject:
Coming soon: USPTO’s new modernized assignment system is replacing ETAS and EPAS
Date:
Thu, 09 Nov 2023 20:23:55 +0000
From:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office <subscriptioncenter at subscriptions.uspto.gov><mailto:subscriptioncenter at subscriptions.uspto.gov>
Reply-To:
subscriptioncenter at subscriptions.uspto.gov<mailto:subscriptioncenter at subscriptions.uspto.gov>
To:
carl at oppedahl.com<mailto:carl at oppedahl.com>


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Coming soon: USPTO’s new modernized assignment system is replacing ETAS and EPAS
As part of our updates to online services, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is reforming the Electronic Trademark Assignment System<https://link.edgepilot.com/s/78c7b780/MU4fsPYuFkC0CH0jcJ32zQ?u=https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vZXRhcy51c3B0by5nb3YvP3V0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1zdWJzY3JpcHRpb25jZW50ZXImdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9JnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX25hbWU9JnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9Z292ZGVsaXZlcnkmdXRtX3Rlcm09IiwiYnVsbGV0aW5faWQiOiIyMDIzMTEwOS44NTQzNDE5MSJ9.AGtOaHYuGoh4ZBPqhkoVhuJo0oTy_l8esWaB0pbd0dY/s/532755691/br/230480403810-l> (ETAS) and the Electronic Patent Assignment System<https://link.edgepilot.com/s/69461420/0jntSytatEyOul0q0aTJWw?u=https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDIsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vZXBhcy51c3B0by5nb3YvP3V0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1zdWJzY3JpcHRpb25jZW50ZXImdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9JnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX25hbWU9JnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9Z292ZGVsaXZlcnkmdXRtX3Rlcm09IiwiYnVsbGV0aW5faWQiOiIyMDIzMTEwOS44NTQzNDE5MSJ9.XsxcBPFuwA3li4xBi8gLjzPt79QZ8fG_iKr4z_UeQj4/s/532755691/br/230480403810-l> (EPAS) into one cohesive and modernized system: the Intellectual Property Assignment System (IPAS). IPAS will be available to customers starting on January 15, 2024.
This new system provides integrated information support by processing all patent<https://link.edgepilot.com/s/1e6bfbf0/QtsuJ8p_xEG-Rnhn5L-Gxg?u=https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDMsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnVzcHRvLmdvdi9wYXRlbnRzL21haW50YWluL3BhdGVudHMtYXNzaWdubWVudHMtY2hhbmdlLXNlYXJjaC1vd25lcnNoaXA_dXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXN1YnNjcmlwdGlvbmNlbnRlciZ1dG1fY29udGVudD0mdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fbmFtZT0mdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1nb3ZkZWxpdmVyeSZ1dG1fdGVybT0iLCJidWxsZXRpbl9pZCI6IjIwMjMxMTA5Ljg1NDM0MTkxIn0.dYFWYhRx7UchCsUQ0oTtHgn4P1iq6Eh7RjfMrk380aQ/s/532755691/br/230480403810-l> and trademark re-assignment<https://link.edgepilot.com/s/d064b503/YFC9OHpjbUSWA_XWQs0F8w?u=https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDQsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnVzcHRvLmdvdi90cmFkZW1hcmtzL3RyYWRlbWFyay1hc3NpZ25tZW50cy1jaGFuZ2Utc2VhcmNoLW93bmVyc2hpcD91dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c3Vic2NyaXB0aW9uY2VudGVyJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PSZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9uYW1lPSZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWdvdmRlbGl2ZXJ5JnV0bV90ZXJtPSIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMzExMDkuODU0MzQxOTEifQ.z-3VYAXkYXByMcJotuKEoYVO5KYQffjT5EyLAIgv3es/s/532755691/br/230480403810-l> requests, in which a patent or trademark holder transfers ownership or changes the owner’s name on their pending or granted application or registration. IPAS also enhances customer service by enabling USPTO staff to track the status of customer requests, record data, and issue reports from one secure cloud-based system.
This upgrade of USPTO systems is just one way we are updating our online services. For information on additional enhancements, visit our website improvements page<https://link.edgepilot.com/s/f07aed74/k9EpsiUYrkOiRYAtVjYsAQ?u=https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDUsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnVzcHRvLmdvdi9hYm91dC11cy93ZWJzaXRlLWltcHJvdmVtZW50cz91dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c3Vic2NyaXB0aW9uY2VudGVyJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PSZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9uYW1lPSZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWdvdmRlbGl2ZXJ5JnV0bV90ZXJtPSIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMzExMDkuODU0MzQxOTEifQ.BedcioC9nJ295I7ZuGank9x_1UJHg4-I9jiOS0DjxsM/s/532755691/br/230480403810-l>.



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