Notice of Intent to Brand Name Sole Source - for Total Patent Legal Research
Overview
Buyer
Place of Performance
NAICS
PSC
Set Aside
Original Source
Timeline
Qualification Details
Fit reasons
- NAICS alignment with historical contract wins in similar service areas.
- Scope strongly matches core technical capabilities and delivery model.
Risks
- Past performance thresholds may require one additional teaming partner.
- Potential clarification needed on staffing minimums before bid/no-bid.
Next steps
Validate eligibility requirements, assign capture owner, and schedule partner outreach to confirm teaming strategy before submission planning.
Quick Summary
The Department of Energy (DOE), Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), has issued a Notice of Intent to Award a Brand Name Sole Source Modification to LexisNexis for its 'Total Patent One' software. This acquisition is for a one-user license to access specialized patent search and analysis tools, integrated with ARPA-E's existing LexisNexis subscription. The contract will cover one base year and three option years.
Scope of Work
The 'Total Patent One' software is required to provide:
- Access to over 175 million documents across more than 100 authorities.
- Full-text Boolean search capability across 70 authorities.
- Comprehensive, up-to-date, and relevant patent data from a vast online collection.
- Features such as machine translation for cross-authority searching and standardized numbering for consistent data analysis.
Contract Details & Justification
- Type: Brand Name Sole Source Modification to an existing purchase order.
- Duration: One base year and three option years.
- Set-Aside: Not applicable (sole source).
- Estimated Award Date: May 19, 2026.
This procurement is justified under FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures, specifically FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) and FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(A). ARPA-E determined that LexisNexis is the only source capable of providing the required patent module due to its exclusive and proprietary integration with ARPA-E's current LexisNexis legal database subscription. Acquiring a patent module from any other source would necessitate procuring an entirely new legal research platform, leading to substantial and unrecoverable duplication of costs, including redundant platform purchases, IT integration, data migration, and extensive personnel retraining. This sole source action ensures cost-efficiency and uninterrupted operational efficiency by maximizing prior investment.
Response Submission
This notice is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties who believe they can meet the stated requirements by providing an equivalent product or service are invited to submit capabilities statements, proposals, or other relevant information.
- Submission Deadline: May 12, 2026, by 10:00 AM (ET).
- Submission Method: Email to sara.feki@hq.doe.gov.
Contact Information
- Contract Specialist: Sara Feki
- Email: sara.feki@hq.doe.gov