Interview with a Senior Editor in Patent Translation

Patent Translation Services Track Record and Supported Fields Interview with a Senior Editor in Patent Translation

Collaboration between translation staff familiar with different technological fields covers state-of-the-art multidisciplinary fields.

“My job is to check whether or not translations are logically correct and use correct notation.”

I serve as an editor in patent translation. My job is to compare draft translations against original text to check whether or not they are logically correct and correct notation is used. I specialize in electricity and mechanics. I used to work as a development engineer at a semiconductor manufacturer, and my experience there now helps me a great deal here. Knowledge of a specific field, however deep the knowledge is, is not enough to understand a new state-of-the-art technology for which a customer wants to obtain a patent.

For example, translation of documents related to biological analytical instruments requires knowledge of not only chemistry, but also computer programs and mechatronics.

Recently, the integration of these technological fields has been increasingly advanced. It is becoming increasingly important for individual translators and editors not only to deepen their knowledge in their field of expertise, but also to combine their knowledge and work in collaboration with others.

“Expressions specific to patent documents”

On the other hand, expressions specific to patent documents must be mastered in patent translation. For example, the word "member" is often used to mean a member of a framework. "The art" as used in patent documents, corresponds to "this technological field" in standard documents. A professional translator specializing in patents must cover these boilerplate expressions at least. Patent documents related to fierce development races between companies or legal proceedings must be translated at a higher speed than other fields. Simultaneous pursuit of quality translations and quick delivery is impossible unless we are familiar with what role the target documents are meant to play in an application or in legal proceedings.

Only experienced companies and experienced translators can provide this kind of reliable patent translation service.

Our job is a background role. However, we are proud that our job provides a backbone to the intellectual property rights of corporate customers, and that is why our job is challenging. We will spare no effort to collect up-to-date information on patent application trends and technologies and continue to ask ourselves how to add more value to our translation service.