1997

A guide to patent translation

As a patent translator who has been working professionally for the past 25 years, I have compiled in our blog some guiding information, which I think those who are new in the field of patent translation, or even have some experience can benefit from.

So, what I provide is only guiding information and is not exhaustive.

The aim here is to encourage those who translate patent documents to gain insight into what they are dealing with, and help them to understand some basic patent concepts, as well as some specific terminology and jargon widely used in the patent business.

The Turkish translators can find here and in our patent dictionary also a list of frequently-used terms with their Turkish counterparts, which we have standardized throughout the years.

Well, the Turkish patent terminology still seems to need to be unified or harmonized. The term "embodiment", for instance, is a standard term used worldwide. It does not differ with the location a patent application is drafted on. But when it comes to Turkey, it has two counterparts in the form of "düzenleme" (meaning 'arrangement') and "yapılanma" (meaning 'something with a structural feature'). Some patent attorneys prefer the first one, while the others prefer the second. This is just an example where the absence of terminology unification manifests itself.

You can also find here a discussion on the 'ideal' relationship between scientific literacy and patent translation. Throughout the years, we have encountered many circumstances where patent translation was underrated and assigned to translators inadequate to cope with technical contents.

Given the pure technical content of patent applications, it is not surprising to see translation results in various databases in which some very basic concepts of natural sciences and engineering were used incorrectly.

Anyway, we thank you for taking time to read our blog.

Please click the following links to read more.

Patent: A translator's dream

Scientific literacy and patent translation

Frequently used terms in patent applications with their Turkish counterparts