the pto bulletin
August 9, 1999
PTO is one step closer to signing a lease for its consolidated facility. A lawsuit filed by the Charles E. Smith Companies, in the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging violation of the Public Buildings Act and Competition in Contracting Act, was dismissed on July 29, 1999. Smith is the landlord for the bulk of PTO's space. District Court Judge Cacheris granted the Government's motion for summary judgment in full, after concluding that the administrative record demonstrates the Solicitation For Offers requirements are reasonable and that the Government had complied with applicable law.
On June 14, 1999, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced that LCOR Alexandria, L.L.C., was chosen as the successful offeror for PTO's space consolidation project. LCOR's proposal provides for development of approximately 2 million square feet of office and related leased space for PTO on the Carlyle site, located on currently undeveloped land at Dulaney Street and Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Virginia. The full text of GSA's announcement can be found here.
Legislation making a variety of changes to patent law and reorganizing the PTO into a performance based organization passed the U.S. House of Representatives on August 4, 1999. The full text of the legislation, which must be passed by the Senate and signed by the President before it becomes law, can be found here. [137KB]