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Is it safe to draft claims based
on an incomplete understanding of the prior art?
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Will a badly written translation be
enough to traverse an examiner?
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Is your billable time best spent
struggling with a confusing translation?
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If you answered "no," you probably make a habit of
due diligence and best practice in all areas of your work and,
before choosing a translation, you will want to know the risks
and benefits in play.
Risks in Translation of Prior Art
The greatest risk is being misled as to the scope of the disclosure.
This can happen as the result of omissions, or as the result
of the translator using narrower language than was used in
the original. It is also possible to be misled as to the technical
ideas disclosed, as a result of insufficient technical understanding
on the part of the translator.
In Prosecution
If your understanding of the prior art is flawed, you may
draft a patent that is vulnerable to future challenges on
the grounds of anticipation, particularly if the party contesting
the patent has obtained a better translation of that prior
art.
In Litigation
The most common risk is that of failing to avail yourself
of a winning strategy, simply because you do not have the
confidence to make the argument on the basis of a poorly executed
translation. Naturally, it is also possible to see a key argument
fail if your translation is successfully contested.
Benefits
In all cases you will work faster and with more confidence
when using a high quality patent translation. Likewise, examiners
and juries are more easily convinced by well-written translations.
Lastly, assuming that your client will see the translation,
it is appropriate that the quality reflect well on your practice.
To avoid risk and make your own job easier, why not use our
quote request form or give
us a call. We will be happy to get you a quote right
away. If price is an important consideration
in this matter you may also want to find out how you can lower
your costs by choosing the right patent translation
options. If you are undecided, please read more about
our qualifications and expertise.
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