5 ways to get quality patent translations while keeping costs down

Quality patent translations are crucial. You’ve spent considerable time drafting an application that you and your client are happy with – an application that robustly protects their IP – and now you need an English translation that does exactly the same.

Not only to ensure that vital protection for their invention worldwide, but also to bolster your relationship and reputation with them.

The issue is that good translations don’t come cheap. And while you want to make sure their applications are always translated to an impeccable standard, you also want to keep the costs as reasonable as possible.

It may seem like the two are incompatible. Is it just better to go for a cheaper option? Accept the often-mediocre quality and spend time fixing the translation yourself?

You could, but you’ve probably got better things to do with your time.

In this blog post I’ll give you a few tips about how to keep costs down when commissioning a patent translation. You’ll be able to free up more budget to work with a premium translator, guaranteeing top quality for your client every time and removing the need for you to waste time correcting mistakes.

1) Provide an editable version of the application

Many patent applications are sent for translation in an unsearchable PDF format, often with handwritten amendments following previous examination/opposition rounds.

In some cases this may be unavoidable. But if you have a Word version of the application, make sure to send that to your translator too.

The software that patent translators use to ensure consistency in terminology across translations for the same end client requires an editable file format, e.g. a Word file.

If all the translator has is a grainy PDF, they’ll have to use optical character recognition (OCR) software to produce a workable file.

This extra OCR and formatting step will often bump the price up – as either a specific surcharge or a price calculated on the basis of the number of words in the translation.

With an application in a ready-to-use Word file, you can avoid these added costs.

Pro tip: sometimes the application may be available in both a Word and a PDF version but you’re unsure whether they’re exactly the same – the PDF might be the latest version that has been amended a few times. In that case, it’s best to send both files to your translator but ask them to use the PDF as the definitive version. That way you can keep costs down and still be assured that the right text is being translated.

2) Edit drawings yourself

The drawings are a key part of the application, helping to explain the embodiment examples of the invention. In some cases, for instance graphs or method flowcharts, they may contain lots of text that also needs translating.

Here, you have two options – ask the translator simply to provide the caption translations or ask them to also edit the drawings to include the translated text.

The second option is likely to attract another surcharge. And as this DTP step is often charged by the hour, the costs can rack up if there are several figures with text.

To avoid this extra cost, think about whether there’s anyone in-house who could edit the drawings. A graphic designer, perhaps, or the original drafter.

Your translator can then simply supply the translated captions in bilingual tables and someone else can take care of DTP.

Photo by Daniel McCullough on Unsplash

3) Ask for translation only

Whenever I’m approached for a potential project, one of the first things I ask is whether my prospective client also wants the translation revised.

Revision by a second specialist is always my recommended approach – two heads are better than one! – but this inevitably comes with added cost.

This could be up to an extra 25% on top of the translation fee, which might put the cost beyond your client’s budget.

If you’ve found the perfect translator but their price for translation plus revision is just too high, try and make other arrangements for the translation review.

Is there anyone within your firm who’d be able to read the translation over? Or what about the end client themselves? If so, you might be able to bring the cost back within budget.

4) Negotiate urgent deadlines

Sometimes, no matter how much planning you’ve done, a translation will come along that will require an urgent turnaround. Besides the stress of getting the translation allocated, you may then also have rush fees to deal with.

If meeting the tight deadline requires the translator to do some evening work, you may be hit with a 30-50% rush fee – potentially even more for weekend work. What if this would push the price beyond your budget?

Whenever clients come to me with an urgent request, I provide two options – one with the earliest feasible deadline (with evening and/or weekend work) plus an urgency fee, and one with a longer deadline (normal working hours only) but without an urgency fee.

So, always have an idea of the absolute latest delivery date you could accept for an urgent translation. Ask the translator for the earliest they could deliver without an urgency fee, and with any luck you’ll be able to find a middle ground and avoid any extra costs.

Pro tip: if you have a regular translator and already have some projects booked in with them, see if you can shift any of the existing deadlines to open up some capacity for the more pressing request.

5) Group similar applications together

Per-word pricing has generally become the norm for patent translations – it’s often the easiest way for everyone to have an idea of the cost from the get-go.

However, if one of your end clients has several similar applications to translate, it may work out cheaper to send them all to the patent translator in one go and ask for a single price.

The translator will analyse the files together to find any crossover in the content. They’ll be able to factor any text shared by one or more applications into the project price, resulting in savings for you and your client.

What to do with that extra budget

Keeping these tips in mind when sending a patent application out for translation will free up more budget to work with a specialist patent translator – a translator you can trust with all your clients’ applications.

And working with an expert translator will pay dividends in the long term.

You can stay focused on protecting your clients’ IP, safe in the knowledge that you’ll consistently get high quality; that you won’t have to spend your valuable time reviewing or fixing translations; that there won’t be any mistakes leading to costly corrections or refiling further down the line.

And talking of your clients – the patent attorneys I work with tell me their clients can tell when they’ve used a premium, highly skilled translator who understands their technology.

It’s an easy way of cementing your relationship with your clients – they’ll have chosen you as their patent attorney for your skills and reputation and will appreciate you using the same discerning standards when selecting your translators.

So, if you need a specialist patent translator for your German/French/Spanish manufacturer clients, I’m here to help. Book a call with me or send me an email and we can discuss your projects.

Have clients in a different field? Get in touch and I’ll recommend the perfect patent translator for them.