When you request the translation of a patent specification that is intended for filing there are a few things you might want to consider. If you let your attorney handle the translation, they should be familiar with specific requirements of the translation. However, if you let a language service provider and a freelance translator handle the translation they might not be as familiar, so to be on the safe side you should check for requirements and provide detailed instructions.

1. Format of the Patent Translation

A translation of a patent specification for filing needs to fulfil certain formatting requirements, that are different depending on the country you plan to file in. We recommend checking with your attorney for certain requirements before ordering a translation.

We are familiar with the filing requirements for Germany and Japan, however not as familiar with requirements for other countries, so please let us know if there are any formatting request from the respective patent office. For more details on what requirements a Japanese translation needs to fulfil you can check this article.

2. Deadline for submission of the Patent Translation

The deadline for submission of the translation is different from country to country. Some require a translation at the point of filing/entering the national phase and others allow late filing of the translation. Sometimes late filing may require additional extension fees. Make sure you are aware of your deadline as well as possible fees that could be incurred when extending it. Also ask your attorney until when they will require the finished translation so that they can file it in time. Most attorneys probably won’t be able to file in time if you send them the translation one day before the deadline. Failure of filing the translation in time can result in rejection of the application.

3. Amendments and Subject Matter of the Translation

Depending on the filing route and the country you file the translation of the application must be a mirrored translation of the original application, or it might be possible to make corrections or even amend the claims. If you consider amendments or corrections check with your attorney how these need to be filed and whether a translation that is 100% equal to the original application is required first.

For example, when entering the national phase in Japan with a PCT application the translation needs to be equal to the application filed with WIPO, but when amendments are filed with WIPO as article 19 or 34 amendments it is possible to enter the national phase in Japan with the amended claims without filing the original claims first. When entering the national phase in Germany with article 19 or 34 amendments a translation of both the original and the amended claims needs to be filed.

transeuro can provide a patent translation that is perfectly tailored to your requirements. If you are interested in patent translation, please do not hesitate to contact us. We can translate from Japanese to German/ German to Japanese, Japanese to English/English to Japanese and German to English/English to German.

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