[Protest of DCSC Solicitation for Suction Guide Cones for Seawater Pumps]

A firm protested a Defense Construction Supply Center (DCSC) solicitation for suction guide cones, contending that: (1) DCSC improperly derived the solicitation's technical drawing from a proprietary drawing; (2) DCSC unreasonably used considerably expensive reverse engineering to create the technical drawing, since previous contracts for the product did not show a pattern of overstated prices; and (3) the drawing included several errors. GAO held that: (1) the protester failed to show that DCSC used its proprietary drawing; (2) the protester failed to ensure its proprietary rights on an unrestricted drawing that DCSC used as part of the reverse engineering process; and (3) it would not review protest issues which could result in reduced competition to the protester's favor. Accordingly, the protest was denied in part and dismissed in part.