Japanese Patent Translation

DOCUMENTS | FIELDS
OUR APPROACH | CERTIFIED TRANSLATIONS
OUR POLICY: THINGS WE COMMIT NEVER TO DO

We provide Japanese-to-English translation of patent specifications with consistently high quality, for both filing and other uses, and we have an established track record in a broad range of fields of art that demonstrates our capabilities.

Documents We Handle

We handle not just patent specifications, but virtually any document related to the patent prosecution process and patent litigation, a partial list being as follows.

Patent specifications (for filing and other purposes)
We can also provide translations for other purposes, in which case the translation usually must closely following the content and form of the original is usually required.
Procedural amendments
Written opposition
Appeals
Appeal against trial decision
Notification of reasons for rejection
Request for trial for invalidation
Arguments (written opinions)
Allowances
Complaints
Non-patent documents submitted as prior art
Final rejections
Licensing agreements
Powers of attorney
Non-disclosure agreements
Priority certification
Patent opinions
R&D literature
Court documents

Fields of Art We Handle

We have translation experience in a wide range of fields, just some of which are indicated below. In additon, we have direct industry and research experience in the fields marked ♦.

Electronics ♦
Semiconductors
Energy, Power Generation/Storage
Display technology
Materials
Automotive
Measurement & Testing ♦
Analysis & other scientific equipment ♦
Optics ♦
Control sytems
Information & Communications ♦

What We Commit to Do: Our Approach

Every Japanese patent translation assignment we accept is subjected to a process we have developed over the years for providing high-quality patent translation.

Initial Readthrough. Our initial readthrough of Japanese patent documents we are asked to translate is basically to identify at an early stage problems that could arise during the actual translation process.

Independent Verification of Bibliographic Information and Acquisition of Reference Materials. Bibliographic information allows us to research and identify relevant reference materials. Naturally, receiving such reference material from our clients is very helpful, but given the bibliographical information, we can usually find the following type of information on our own.

Existing US patents with similar subject matter that have been granted to the same inventors (often very helpful in identifying terminology already established and recognized in the field of art of the patent being translated)
Non-patent publications, such as academic papers, by the same inventors.
Other literature in the field of art of the patent.

Establishment of Terminology to Be Used. Terminology we used needs to be both consistent within the Japanese patent document being translated and consistent with terminology conventionally used in the field of the art of the patent document being translated. To that end, we create job-specific glossaries for every assignment we accept, these glossaries including the following elements.

Terminology not necessarily unique to the field of art of the document, but identified as customarily used by the same inventors in other patent applications.
Correct renderings of all inventor names and the Japanese applicant name (available to us through our access of Japanese-only databases). We have learned that machine translations of Japanese patents sometimes render personal names of inventors and the like completely incorrectly.

When necessary, the glossaries created also include notes on terminology to aid the patent translator. These glossaries are maintained by us indefinitely, and serve as a basis for future assignments.

Translation. Once the above preparatory steps have been completed, the translation process itself begins. Unlike some of the mass-production translation providers, we never need to look for a heretofore unknown translators, sometimes in a Third World venue to do your translations. Translations are only entrusted to here at Kirameki or personally know to us, who both understand the subject matter of the patent document and have years of experience in the patent translation field.

Questions. During the translation process, questions might arise. Depending upon whether the translation is for filing or for other purposes, these will best be handled by the inventor or drafter of the patent (in the former case) or the entity originally commissioning the translation (in the case of US law firm clients commissioning translations). The fact that questions are asked should be understood as an indication that the translator realizes the importance of not speculating when correct information is close at hand.

The Things We Commit Never to Do Set Apart from the Crowd

Naturally, as Japanese patent translation boutique, we are committed to providing you with the highest possible quality. But there are a number of things that we promise we will not be doing when you issue an order for translation. These things distinguish us from the mass-production translation brokers that seem committed to volume over quality.

We will not accept an assignment unless we have the in-house capability of assuring the quality before we send you the translation. Ethics and our commitment to quality prevent us from doing that.

We will not (and need not) scramble to the Internet in search of translators when we receive an assignment. Such behavior is characteristic of mass-production translation brokers with very little or no in-house capability. That such efforts often lead your documents to Third-World venues demonstrates a lack of prudence, lack of understanding of the translation process, and a mistaken view of translation as a commodity. We do not provide commodity translations and surely your documents deserve better treatment.

We will not accept a job without knowing who will be doing the translation beforehand. In the world of translation providers, this is a promise that very few companies can fulfill. Even the rare translation companies that have in-house Japanese translation capability seldom have the capability to do any significant portion of their work in-house, and are forced to subcontract almost all the work they do, sometimes to other companies that again subcontract the work. This subcontracting spiral often leads to an unknown translator in an unknown venue. Often the only person who knows the identity and location of the translator doing your work is the final subcontractor, and then only after the translator is found for your job.

Certified Translations

We can provide certified translations for prosecution or litigation. With regard to translations we have executed, we can provide a letter of certification for a translation, signed by the responsible translator, something that many other translation providers&emdash;particularly the larger ones&emdash; usually by providing a letter signed by a person who is not even a translator.

As an additional service, given the original Japanese and an already-executed translation, we can bring the translation up to a level at which we could certify it You should be aware however that, depending upon the quality of the original translation, the cost involved could be close to or the same as the cost of having a proper translation done from the start.