La Salle University Philadelphia - 21 November 2013

Matthew Schlecht, PhD Word Alchemy wordalchemytranslation.com (presentation will be available for download) [email protected]

Translation of Patents
Topics for Today
What is a Patent? Anatomy of a Patent Why are Patents Translated? Strategies for Patent Translation ES > EN Patent Translation Conclusions Resources

Translation of Patents
Goals for Today
Basic understanding of patents
(acknowledgements to Bruce Popp) www.bien-fait.com (FR>EN patent translation)

Know why patents are translated Know how to translate a patent

Examples of ES > EN translation

My Background
Language study Franais, Espaol, Latina Deutsch , Franais, Espaol Timing Before 1971 1971-1975 1975-1980 1980-1982 1982-1988 1988-1999 1999-2002 Chemistry => BS (Univ. Wisconsin) Organic Chemistry => PhD (Columbia Univ.) Organic Chemistry => Post-doc (UC Berkeley) Organic Chemistry => Asst. Prof. (Brooklyn Polytechnic) Study and Work

Agrochemicals => Sr. Res. Chemist (DuPont Ag Products)

Pharmaceutical Outsourcing => FTE (CBR&D / Beard Research Inc.) Technical Translation & Editing => (Word Alchemy)

2002 -

Matthew Schlecht, PhD Word Alchemy wordalchemytranslation.com

What is a Patent?

A document describing an invention by saying as much as it must and no more An exchange of disclosure and protection between an inventor and the public

Requirements for Patentability

The invention must have novelty

(reason for the Prior Art or Background)

The invention must have an inventive step

(not obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art)

The invention must have unity

(one invention or single general inventive concept)

The invention must have industrial utility

(reduction to practice)

A Patent is an Exchange

Mediated by Government in Public Interest

(Innovation as a driver of economic growth)

Disclosure
(Make the innovation publicly available)

Limited Negative Protection

(Stop others from using the innovation, scope and time)

Purpose of Patents

Spur innovation Make results of innovation and research available to public Limited protection for investment in R&D Not great literature (!), sometimes almost unintelligible except to experts

Intended Readers of Patents

Specifically: a person having ordinary skill in the art

Other inventors, potential licensees, lawyers Assumes a minimum level of expertise

Must be written in clear & exact terms, and must be enabling

All information necessary to practice the invention must be included Actual examples must be described

Anatomy of a Patent

Front Page Specification

Description / Disclosure Claims (independent and dependent) Legends, Labels or Callouts

Figures

Tables
Components for Working Examples Measurement Data Gene Sequences Source Code Listing

Front Page / Cover Sheet

Numbered items (INID codes) are defined and have set language equivalents:

(19) Office or organization publishing the document

(11) Publication number (21) Application number (51) International Patent Classification (IPC) (12) Type of document (Patent Application) (22) Application date (43) Publication date (71) Applicant (72) Inventors (74) Attorney or agent

(54) Title of invention

(57) Abstract

Descripcin
(Description, Specification, Disclosure)
These sections also have set language equivalents:
Objeto de la invencin (Object of the invention) (Field of the invention) Antecedentes de la invencin (Prior art, Background)

Descripcin de la invencin (Description)

Breve descripcin de los dibujos (Brief description of the figures)

Descripcin de un ejemplo de realizacin de la invencin (Embodiments, Working examples, Examples)

Reivindicaciones (Claims)
A patent must have at least one claim. Independent claims can stand alone, do not refer primarily to any other claims. Dependent claims refer back to one or more earlier claims, and claim a modification or subset of the earlier matter. Patent fees are calculated in part on the number of claims. A patent covers only one invention, but author claim one or more aspects or objects of the invention. Claims cover specific instances of an invention, the reduction to practice. Patent examiners will sometimes split up a patent application (multiple inventions) or combine applications (not unique enough).

Claims
Entire books have been written about claims*:

A single sentence (one period), but can continue on for pages, and can be extremely hard to understand without experience
Uses controlled language (comprising) and reflects elements and code numbers described in the specification and figures Claims are the only legally binding language that describe the invention
* Landis on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting, 4th Ed., Robert C. Faber, Practising Law Institute (1998) - ISBN 0-87224-096-7

Independent Claim
Preamble:

Transition:
Body of the claim:

Preamble: names or defines the thing that is to be claimed Transition: caracterizado porque, characterized in that Body: a recitation of the elements of the parts of the combination and a description of how the elements cooperate with one another structurally, physically, or functionally, to make up the operative combination recited in the preamble

Dependent Claim
Preamble: Transition: Body of the claim:

Preamble: refers back to one or more of the previous claims Transition: caracterizado porque, characterized in that Body: a recitation of the elements and description the cooperation to the extent that these differ from and further limit those of the referenced claim(s)

Figures
Sometimes have legends, labels, or call-outs, but often just code numbers that refer back to the Specification. When translating a patent, insist on seeing the figures, even if no text is present. Correlating the depiction in the figure with the explanation in words can be crucial in nailing down terminology, or even understanding the invention.

Why are Patents Translated?

For Information
Someone (researcher, student, author) is interested in the patent as a technical publication. Requirements for wording are not so strict, translators notes are welcome.

Freedom to Operate (FTO)

A competitor wants to assess precisely what is covered and what is not covered by the patent, to determine if they can find loopholes. Stricter requirements for wording, translator input still welcome.

For Filing
Inventor/applicant wishes to file patent in a different jurisdiction, requiring a translation that must be exact (no more, no less than the original). Translator input only rarely welcome. (Ask your client!)

Patent Translation for Information

Client can be a researcher, student, author; projects usually come through an agency, but sometimes directly.

Client might wish to reproduce the work, or modify / adapt methods for unrelated work.
Client might need the information as background, or as a source of data (measurement results)

Patent Translation to Determine Freedom to Operate

Client is a competitor of the patent inventor or applicant, or competitors patent attorney
Projects might come through an agency, or directly from company or companys patent office.
Client needs to know what is covered and what is not covered by the patent to decide whether their invention is patentable

Patent Translation for Filing

Client is nearly always a direct client: the inventor/applicant, or their patent attorney Translation is needed for filing a patent application in a different jurisdiction Terminology must be harmonized with companys previous patents; sometimes partial translations are provided (caution!) No new matter (additions), nothing left out, no creative rewording

Strategies for Patent Translation

What follows are some hints on how to handle a patent translation project. For now, we assume a for filing translation, since that type is the most conservative and strict. Other types will be similar, with somewhat looser requirements.

Strategies for Patent Translation

When you are offered a patent translation project
=> Google the title in the source language together with a few key words/phrases in the target language might find an extant translation! (or something similar)
but...

Beware of machine translations (i.e., GooglePatents) => Read the abstract carefully to decide if you are comfortable with the subject matter

Strategies for Patent Translation

Once you have accepted a patent translation project
=> Get good quality digital text. If must OCR the source, proofread OCR output very carefully. => Ask client if they have a sample patent translation with similar subject matter, and/or a glossary of preferred terms. Also ask if you can submit in-process term queries

=> Look for some similar patents in the target language to help with terminology

Strategies for Patent Translation

Beginning a patent translation project
There are many approaches, but I suggest
Check (google) to see if the title or abstract is already available in English Translate claims first (terminology)
- or -

Translate abstract first (terminology & overview)

Translate the Lista de smbolos de referencia / List of reference symbols (if present) Then start translating the specification

Strategies for Patent Translation

General Guidelines
Maintain consistent terminology throughout
OK for terminology to evolve; remember to do global replace! Text from disclosure also appears in claims must be translated the same! If two similar terms occur in the source, must find two equally similar terms for the target. Dont use one target term for two different source terms! (scrutinize the figures if necessary) E.g., source has both orificio and abertura. Can make these orifice and opening E.g., source has both borde and reborde. Can make these edge and rim

ES > EN Patent Translation

(examples)
The patent WO 2012/038571 A1 is titled "Varilla amortiguadora porta-agujas para mquinas de tatuajes", How to render varilla from the phrase varilla amortiguadora porta-agujas into English?
Maybe peek at the English version of the title, Shock-absorbing needle bar for tattoo machines

ES > EN Patent Translation

(examples)
Failing that, check technical glossary resources (i.e., Routledge): varilla: rod, stem, bar, rib, lath, wand, link, tie, spear, lever, stem

Look at the figure for clues:

Do context searches on the best guesses, such as googling "tattoo" with "needle " where is our provisional gloss for varilla. Between contenders "needle stem", "needle rib", and "needle bar", this latter appears to be the most widely used

ES > EN Patent Translation

(examples)
In the patent ES 2,234,353 A1 that we saw earlier, we find:
La segunda parte 3 presenta una primera zona 6 para el ajuste del silenbloc (almohada para absorber las vibraciones del amortiguador contra la pieza) 10 normalmente dispuesto en el orificio del extremo del amortiguador 9 y que se constituye como un elemento elstico y flexible. What is silenbloc?

ES > EN Patent Translation

(examples)
This silenbloc looks like non-native Spanish
The text defines it as:

almohada para absorber las vibraciones del amortiguador contra la pieza.

Research shows that almohada can be pillow (??), cushion (?), or pad. Pad looks best from the context, but that brings us back to silenbloc. Try Google

ES > EN Patent Translation

(examples)
Another clue

As Tom Cruise might say, Google, you complete me!

ES > EN Patent Translation

(examples)
GoogleImages for silenbloc is helpful, too we can see how this might fit in with element 10 in our figure.
Googling silent block in English strongly supports this.

ES > EN Patent Translation

(chemical claim examples)

Summary of AR073089 A1 from the Argentina patent gazette (2010):

Claim 1: A compound of the general formula (1) wherein: R represents hydrogen or C1-4 alkyl; A represents CO(CH2)n or CONH(CH2)n, where n = 2, 3, 4, or 5; R1 represents H or C1-4 alkyl; R2 represents H or C1-4 alkyl, or (CH2)mNR3R4, where m = 2, 3, 4, or 5; R3 represents H or C1-4 alkyl; R4 represents H or C1-4 alkyl, or (CH2)pNR5R6, where p = 2, 3, 4, or 5; R5 represents H or C1-4 alkyl; and R6 represents H or C1-4 alkyl, or (CH2)qNR5R6, where q = 2, 3, 4, or 5; or one of its pharmaceutically acceptable salts.

ES > EN Patent Translation

(chemical claim examples)

Argentina patent AR073117 A1 (2010):

Claim 1: A compound of formula (1), or a prodrug, pharmaceutically acceptable salt, or solvate of same. Claim 2: The compound according to claim 1 in the form of a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of same. Claim 14: The compound according to claim 3, wherein the salt is benzoate. Claim 15: A crystalline form A of the compound according to claim 14. Claim 16: A crystalline form of the compound according to claim 14, where the crystalline form has XRPD peaks at least at the following 2 angles: 7.75, 10.13, 17.03, 17.16, 18.39, 21.33, and 21.88.

ES > EN Patent Translation

(polymer example)
Entry in the Mexican (IMPI) patent gazette, Oct. 2013, p 107 [54] Ttulo : RESINAS MODIFICADAS CON SILICIO BASADAS EN UNIDADES PERIODICAS DERIVADAS DE ALCOHOL ALILICO, Y SU USO EN REVESTIMIENTOS RESISTENTES A LA INTEMPERIE. [57] Resumen : Esta invencin da a conocer un proceso para elaborar resinas alqudicas modificadas con silicio, composiciones de resina y productos elaborados con las mismas. Este proceso comprende hacer reaccionar: A) por lo menos un compuesto de organosilicio B) por lo menos una resina obtenible haciendo reaccionar por lo menos un agente de cido graso con por lo menos un polmero polihdrico que tiene una funcionalidad de OH promedio de aproximadamente 2 a 25 y Mn de aproximadamente 800 a aproximadamente 5000, que comprende unidades peridicas derivadas de un alcohol allico de la frmula: CH2=CR3-CH2-(A)n-OH (III) con R3: H o alquilo de 1 a 5 tomos de carbono A: un grupo de oxialquileno n: 0 a 10. Las resinas alqudicas modificadas con silicio preparadas mediante este proceso presentan intemperizacin significativamente mejorada en las aplicaciones de la composicin de revestimiento correspondiente. [54] SILICON-MODIFIED RESINS BASED ON REPEATING UNITS DERIVED FROM ALLYL ALCOHOL, AND USE OF SAME IN WEATHER-RESISTANT COATINGS [57] Abstract: This invention discloses a process to prepare silicon-modified alkyd resins, resin compositions, and products prepared from same. This process comprises causing to react: A) at least one organosilicon compound, and B) at least one resin obtainable by causing to react at least one fatty acid agent with at least one polyhydric polymer that has an average OH functionality of approx. 2 to 25 and an Mn of approx. 800 to approx. 5000, comprising repeating units derived from an allylic alcohol of the formula CH2=CR3-CH2-(A)n-OH (III) where R3 represents H or C1-5 alkyl, A represents an oxyalkylenyl group, and n is 0 to 10. The silicon-modified alkyd resin prepared by this process exhibits significantly better weather resistance properties in corresponding coating composition applications.

ES > EN Patent Translation

(Perils of Pretranslation)
Received a patent translation assignment with pretranslated claims to use as a terminology resource The claim: Cubo de rodamientos para mquina lavadora segn la reivindicacin 1 caracterizado porque las superficies externas del cubo de rodamientos son sustancialmente lisas. Was pretranslated as: Bearing cube for a washing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the external surfaces of the bearing cube are essentially flat. Only one tiny problem bearing cube is nonsense, and should be bearing hub!

Conclusions
Patent Translation
Very healthy business stream
Peculiar wording, grammar, and style not found in other areas Must use proper language Must confirm understanding of subject matter

Must ensure consistent terminology

High rate of repetition within and between similar patents

Post-editing of machine output a growing segment

Resources (patents)
Espacenet (portal for European Patent Organization, WIPO, JPO) [http://worldwide.espacenet.com/ ]

World Intellectual Property Organization [ http://www.wipo.int ]

Internationally agreed Numbers for the Identification of (bibliographic) Data (INID codes) [ www.wipo.int/standards/en/pdf/03-09-01.pdf ] Oficina Espaola de Patentes y Marcas (OEPM) (Spain) [ http://www.oepm.es ] Boletin de Patentes, Instituto Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial (INPI) (Argentina) 13 de octubre de 2010 [ www.inpi.gov.ar/pdf/patentes/p612.pdf ] Gaceta de la Propiedad Industrial, Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI) (Mexico) Mxico, Octubre, 2013, p 107 [ http://siga.impi.gob.mx ] United States Patent and Trademark Office [ http://www.uspto.gov/ ]

Resources (online glossaries)

WIPO Patent terms [ http://patentscope.wipo.int/search/clir/clir.jsp?interfaceLanguage=es ] Termium (set search keys to Spanish) [ http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng ] Linguee (quality variable - must corroborate) [ http://www.linguee.com/english-spanish/search? ]

Reverso [ http://dictionary.reverso.net/spanish-english/ ]
Collins [ http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/spanish-english ] Interactive Terminology for Europe (IATE) (must set source and target languages, quirky) [ http://iate.europa.eu ] WordReference [ http://www.wordreference.com/es/ ] Diccionario de la lengua espaola (Real Academia Espaola) (monolingual) [ http://rae.es/recursos/diccionarios/drae ]

Resources (paper dictionaries)

Cassell's Spanish-English, English-Spanish Dictionary Edgar A. Peers, Harper Collins (January 1968) Oxford Spanish Dictionary Beatriz Galimberti Jarman, Roy Russell (Eds) Oxford University Press (2003)

Routledge Spanish Technical Dictionary Vol. 1: Spanish-English, Vol. 2: English-Spanish Routledge (1997)
Landis on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting Robert C. Faber, John L. Landis Practising Law Institute (4th Ed., 1998)

La Salle University Philadelphia - 21 November 2013

Matthew Schlecht, PhD Word Alchemy wordalchemytranslation.com [email protected]

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