In October 2017, the NIPTA (Intellectual Property Translation Association) translation test for translators of patent texts (more information here) took place in Japan. Five of our translators passed the exam. Four of them passed the English exam and one passed the German exam as the only successful candidate in Japan.

In April, we presented you Mr. Hiroyuki Omata’s report on his experience with the exam. Today we present the report by Ms. Chieko Matsumoto, who passed the most difficult level of the exam for English to Japanese translators in the field of chemistry.

Why I decided to take the exam

I have been working as a patent translator for 15 years. I studied organic chemistry at university and after graduating I worked for a few years as a system engineer at a software manufacturer for device control software. Afterwards, I worked in a patent law firm as a translator for patent documents and office actions in the field of chemistry. I have translated from German and English into Japanese.

I then came to transeuro and, in addition to patent texts, also translated contracts and press releases and gradually expanded my expertise.

Since I have never applied to other translation companies or done test translations for other companies, I wanted to check how my skills and style as a translator would be evaluated by third parties. That’s why I decided to take the exam.

Exam preparation

Problems from past exams are published on the NIPTA website. I worked with these to prepare for the exam. The examination problems are very similar to the patent documents I translate in my profession, so it was very easy for me. Since during the exam you have three hours for four problems, I spent one and a half hours working on the problems and used the rest of the time on revision and improvement.

On the website, you will find sample solutions as well as solutions from former successful participants which have been very useful to me. By comparing my translation with that of former participants, I learned new translation variants and styles that I would like to apply in my profession as a patent translator in the future.

Since there are tasks from many different fields, I have also selected a few fields that I am not familiar with and researched the corresponding technologies.

The day of the examination

In October 2017, the NIPTA (Intellectual Property Translation Association) translation test for translators of patent texts (more information here) took place in Japan. Five of our translators passed the exam. Four of them passed the English exam and one passed the German exam as the only successful candidate in Japan.

In April, we presented you Mr. Hiroyuki Omata’s report on his experience with the exam. Today we present the report by Ms. Chieko Matsumoto, who passed the most difficult level of the exam for English to Japanese translators in the field of chemistry.

Why I decided to take the exam

I have been working as a patent translator for 15 years. I studied organic chemistry at university and after graduating I worked for a few years as a system engineer at a software manufacturer for device control software. Afterwards I worked in a patent law firm as a translator for patent documents and office actions in the field of chemistry. I have translated from German and English into Japanese.

I then came to transeuro and, in addition to patent texts, also translated contracts and press releases and gradually expanded my expertise.

Since I have never applied to other translation companies or done test translations for other companies, I wanted to check how my skills and style as a translator would be evaluated by third parties. That’s why I decided to take the exam.

Exam preparation

Problems from past exams are published on the NIPTA website. I worked with these to prepare for the exam. The examination problems are very similar to the patent documents I translate in my profession, so it was very easy for me. Since during the exam you have three hours for four problems, I spent one and a half hours working on the problems and used the rest of the time on revision and improvement.

On the website you will find sample solutions as well as solutions from former successful participants which have been very useful to me. By comparing my translation with that of former participants, I learned new translation variants and styles that I would like to apply in my profession as a patent translator in the future.

Since there are tasks from many different fields, I have also selected a few fields that I am not familiar with and researched the corresponding technologies.

The day of the examination

Thanks to my preparation I wasn’t nervous on the day of the exam. The tasks mainly concerned fields I am familiar with, but I needed more time for revisions than planned, so I could only hand in my solutions shortly before the time was over.

When I work on a translation from a field I am not familiar with, I usually have time to go through literature and websites to familiarize myself, but that is not the case during the exam. Therefore, in addition to the skills as a translator, the ability to research quickly is also important. You have to choose a reliable source from the search results and find the right translation as quickly as possible.

 

In my work I of course put emphasis on correct translations, but I also try to translate in such a way that the reader can understand the complex texts of the patent specifications easily. I also make sure that the author’s intention is correctly understood by the reader.

After the examination

After the examination, I received not only a result but also a personal comment from the examiner. Not only problems were identified, but I also received positive feedback for particularly good translations.

The aspect that I attach importance to the reader understanding the translation correctly was also positively noted. I was very happy about that.

The passed examination is not only positive for me, but I also hope that my passing will have a positive effect on transeuro.

In the future

As a patent translator, you need three things: language skills, technical knowledge, and legal knowledge. Only with these prerequisites, you can make a good patent translation. In addition, you have to keep up to date with the latest technological developments.

I will continue to work on my skills to provide our customers with even better and easier to understand translations even faster.

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