Patent translation is not just about converting text from one language to another, nor is it a process of word-by-word translation. There are plenty of factors that should be taken into account and should not be taken for granted.

As the globalization for intellectual property hits the international market, more and more inventors or patent practitioners are relying on translations. However, a poor quality patent translation can lead to multiple serious problems.

But, how can clients and language translation providers ensure the quality of patent translation?

When it comes to translation, everybody should understand the concept of translation risk. It should be understood that there is no such thing as a perfect translation. A word or a phrase in one language may not correspond to a single word in another language, or that single word may have no exact translation in another language. However, it is necessary to avoid the distortion of the original message, and thus, it is important to hire a knowledgeable patent translator for the right field.

Patent translation may result in errors due to omission and misunderstanding of the translator to the content of the original text. Usually, patents describe technology that is clearly described in a language, thus, most often patent translation from one language doesn’t involve the culture of the source text and the target language.

Despite this, patent translation is still challenging process; describing an invention like a technology involves complexity and passion.

In order to produce a reliable and accurate patent translation, one of the most important things that a translator should have is the ability to speak and understand the source and target language. Patent translators should know both the technical and patent fields. Translation is a complex process, and thus, it is very important to seek a reliable translator who can provide the most accurate patent translation. In an ideal scenario, the translator should also have at least some experience in translating legal documents.

A reliable language translation provider aims to minimize the human errors for translation; asking and seeking a second knowledge from another translator is always high on the list of desirable things to do. From this process, translation costs may rise significantly. However, there is one solution in order to reduce the translation cost and risk. A translator may assist an attorney in checking all the foreign documents. Understanding all the laws of the foreign country and the particular risk of the client case can help to minimize the errors and risk of patent translation.

An accurate patent translation can help an inventor to receive patent rights in another country. Translating patent information can be useful as well as legal evidence that can be used to defend the patent rights of the clients or in any other copyright issue.