In this article, we introduce several important keywords when it comes to patents and intellectual property in Japanese, English and, German.

特許 (Tokkyo) – patent – Patent

A patent is a form of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, selling, and importing an invention for a limited period of years in exchange for publishing the invention. The German and English words are spelled the same. They originate from the medieval Latin litterae patentēs (open letters).

出願 (Shutsugan) – application – Anmeldung

A patent application is a request for the grant of a patent you file with the patent office. Nowadays applications are filed digitally but earlier they were sent to the patent office in printed form.

出願人 (Shutsugannin)- applicant – Anmelder

The applicant is the legal entity that will receive the patent right once granted. It can be the inventor however applicants can be universities or companies as well. An application can have several applicants.

発明 (Hatsumei) – invention – Erfindung

An invention is a new method, form, device or other useful means. The word invention comes from the Latin verb invenire, invent-, (to find). The German word also contains the root word “find”. In order to qualify for a patent, an invention needs to be novel and inventive.

発明者 (Hatsumeisha) – inventor – Erfinder

An inventor is the person who created or discovered the invention. A patent application can list several inventors. The inventor transfers all rights regarding the patent to the applicant.

In English the suffix “-er” is used to form agent nouns from verbs similar as in German. Here, however “-tor” is used due to invent being a loanword from latin.

優先日 (Yuusenbi) – priority date – Prioritätsdatum

The priority date is the date that an application was first filed.

優先権 (Yuusenken) – priority (right) – Priorität(srecht)

Priority laws are different in several countries but in general, the person that filed first will receive the priority right. The priority right allows the applicant to file the application in other countries while claiming the priority of the initial application. The German and English word originate from the Latin word priōritās.

国際出願 (Kokusai Shutsugan) – international application – Internationale Anmeldung

An application based on the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) is an application that increases the time frame for filing applications in other countries after filing the initial application. Without a PCT, application the time frame is one year.

国内移行 (Kokunai Ikou) – national phase entry – Nationalisierung

After filing a PCT application the application then needs to be entered in the national phases of the countries designated for patent filing. This process needs to be carried out for each country separately.

特許庁 (Tokkyochou) – patent office – Patentamt

The patent office is a governmental organization that controls the issue of patents. The patent office of Japan is situated in Tokyo, the German patent office is in Munich. The US patent office has several offices in different states.

特許事務所 (Tokkyojimusho) – intellectual property law firms  – Kanzleien auf dem Gebiet des gewerblichen Rechtsschutzes

Law firms that specialize in intellectual property. In Japan, you can find a lot of firms focusing on intellectual property only, whereas overseas firms mostly also cover other legal areas.

弁理士 (Benrishi) – patent attorney – Patentanwalt

A patent attorney is an attorney that specializes in matters related to patent law. A special qualification is required to become a patent attorney which differs from country to country. In Japan, they are known as benrishi and have to pass an exam to receive the title.

代理人 (Dairinin) – patent agent – Vertreter

A patent agent is person that filed a patent application on behalf of the applicant. The applicant could technically file the application on their own, however, as the procedure and forms are quite complex most applicants entrust and agent with their application.

As you can see some of the English and German words are similar, whereas the Japanese words are all completely different. At transeuro we offer translation of patent specifications and all other documents related to patents in English, Japanese, and German. If you have Japanese documents that you do not understand feel free to contact us.

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