Protest Involving Patent and Latent Defect Clause of Solicitation

A company protested any award under a solicitation, contending that: a patent and latent defect provision was ambiguous and improper; the purchase description, drawings, and sample did not meet standards of 10 U.S.C. 2305 and A.S.P.R. 1-1201; the agency delayed handling its protest; the technical data package did not meet standards; the agency failed to disclose known solicitation errors; and the agency's request for a conference was untimely. The protest was denied on the following grounds: there was just one reasonable interpretation of the patent and latent defect clause, and it did not preclude full competition; standards of 10 U.S.C. and A.S.P.R. 1-1201 were met; the agency did not delay handling of the protest in order to proceed with the award since a decision could probably not have been rendered before the date for award; there was no substantiation of contentions that the technical data package did not fall within standards for utilization of the clause and that applicable regulations were not followed; the agency stated that it had disclosed all known patent defects; and the Interim Bid Protest Procedures and Standards do not impose time limits within which a conference must be requested.