Modernizing the U.S. Patent Office's Trademark System
Faster, scalable, data-driven trademark services
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has long been a cornerstone of American innovation, protecting intellectual property and driving economic growth. However, its trademark application system (TRAM), a legacy COBOL mainframe-based system, was outdated, costly, and inefficient. With the need to modernize its platform, the USPTO tasked Booz Allen and other vendors to enable the transition to a modern, microservice- and cloud-based infrastructure that would transform operations and significantly enhance the user experience.
The Challenge
The TRAM system was vital for every stage of the trademark lifecycle, from filing and search to examination and post-registration maintenance. With the license renewal for the TRAM system set to cost $10 million, the USPTO faced the challenge of modernizing its entire trademark platform while ensuring zero disruption to ongoing operations. Modernization required decoupling components from the legacy mainframe while adopting cloud-based solutions, where feasible.
Our Approach
We tailored our strategy to meet the unique business requirements of each USPTO Trademark Product Line (TMPL) product team and its associated challenges. It prioritized flexibility and agility in execution, with efficient tasking and execution frameworks.
Booz Allen appointed a senior business analyst with expertise in mainframe retirement to oversee cross-functional requirements for various teams. He facilitated decision-making processes across teams, driving the determination of whether transactions should be retired, refactored, or rebuilt, ensuring alignment with the business and technology objectives. As part of the modernization effort, Booz Allen retired outdated mainframe transactions, refactored legacy workflows into Java Spring using OpenAPI Swagger standards, and transitioned functionality to a scalable microservices architecture. Where applicable, we rebuilt legacy systems using modern web technologies or replaced them with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions to optimize performance and future readiness.
The team implemented a phased deployment strategy that allowed for gradual migration from the mainframe, preserving rollback functionality to safeguard business continuity until the final switch-off date. We applied domain-driven design (DDD) principles to deconstruct the monolithic mainframe into discrete business domains. This enabled individual agile teams to focus on independent microservices, facilitating parallel development and enhancing productivity by leveraging a decentralized architecture. The team integrated comprehensive regression testing and user acceptance testing (UAT) cycles to maintain rigorous quality standards throughout the development process. Artifact-driven tracking systems were implemented to ensure that teams remained aligned, met deadlines, and delivered high-quality, functional microservices.
The Impact
Through this effort, Booz Allen delivered seven cloud-native applications to replace mission-critical trademark systems. The team retired, refactored, or rebuilt 1,034 TRAM artifacts, decoupled five mission-critical systems from the mainframe, and successfully deployed 98 TRAM-related releases to production. Additionally, 119 modern trademark analytics reports were developed to replace 419 legacy reports, enhancing insight and decision-making across the enterprise.
The modernization of the USPTO’s trademark systems has delivered an estimated $10 million in savings by eliminating outdated hardware and licensing costs. By reducing technical debt and increasing system supportability, Booz Allen helped streamline operations, enabling faster and more reliable services for users, while also driving significant improvements in performance and efficiency. Real-time analytics and cloud-based tools enhanced data accessibility, empowering data-driven decision making. The modernized architecture also improved scalability and cost-efficiency, positioning the USPTO for future growth and a significantly better experience for stakeholders across the trademark ecosystem.
With this transformative modernization, USPTO is now more agile, secure, and equipped to handle future innovations in intellectual property. Businesses and government agencies benefit from improved scalability, reduced maintenance costs, and enhanced decision-making power, ultimately accelerating the growth of U.S. commerce and innovation.
