Patent Translation – Guidelines

Measures to prevent risks in the translation of patents

There are guidelines for inventors to successfully obtain patent grants, despite challenges facing translations. Most patent applications require submissions of certified translations.

Hire Professionals

For the purpose of correct translation of patents, an expert translator who understands patent laws must be hired. She must be a skilled linguist who knows the techniques and terminology to use at the correct place, to bring the correct interpretation of the invention. Besides, she must write the sentences after analysing their meaning from the perspective of a normal person having domain-specific knowledge, the inventor’s ideology, and the patent examiner. One may also engage more than one expert in the translation work. Thus, the second linguist can check or re-check the correctness of the translator’s work.

Plan your Investments Carefully

Applicants sometimes try to save their pocket by investing at business-promising firms that offer discounts but can’t provide reliable translations. One must give due care to avoid errors in translation, otherwise one risks escalation of cost or perhaps rejection of the application in toto. Certified translation services are the need of the hour to ensure qualification, expertise and accuracy. 

Terminological Equivalence

Technical translation requires skill and accuracy in terminological equivalence. The technical translator is required to have expertise and exposure to the subject of the patent.

Certified Translators

Certification is an important aspect. Inventors often needs to submit the translation to a court or government agency. There are certain cases where certification is not required by law. Even so, it’s a customary to ask for certified translation. This ensures that the translation be precise, unambiguous, and reliable. A certification is a declaration of the translator’s good faith and trust that the translation is true to the original. It is not necessarily an assurance of accuracy. Certified translators are trained and qualified for the job they do, and they are professional and reliable linguists. 

Professional Reviewers

Translation alone does not mark the completion of the translation process. A review, when done by another professional translator, will ensure that the document is optimized in terms of its quality and correctness. The significance of proofreading is also emphasised by various ISO and DIN standards. WordPar is ISO 17100 certified and assures a review by a second linguist for most, and especially patent translations.

Read Before You Sign

The committed inventor must ensure the quality and reliability of the patent application before signing or committing to the applicability of a translated patent application. Help can also be sought from another experienced patent translator if one is not familiar with the target language.