Patent Certificate Translation for the USA

Type of application and office correspondence

Applications in the United States fall into types such as the provisional and the non-provisional filing; a provisional application secures a date, while protection takes shape through the examination of the non-provisional one. The translation reflects correctly which type the document belongs to and which date it rests on, because that type and those dates determine the priority of the application. Document numbers and dates are preserved as numerical identity, in the form the source gives them; a date that drifts leaves the chain of priority open to dispute.

Correspondence conducted with the USPTO during examination – office actions and the responses filed to them – may form part of a file, and the claim amendments and technical explanations they contain may in turn need translating. In texts of this kind too, preserving the scope of the claims word for word and keeping terminology consistent between the description and the claims is essential. Units of measurement and technical values are not converted; changing a value shifts both the definition of the invention and the scope being argued for.

The declaration and the disclosure of prior art

US applications usually call for a signed declaration from the inventor. That declaration is not the translation itself, but it is part of the application file and forms a consistent whole with the translation. Where a priority document or a description drawn up in Turkish is to go into a US file, the USPTO asks for an English translation of the text and, where required, a statement as to its accuracy. The scope of that statement requires the translation to be complete and faithful.

Under US practice an applicant may be under a duty to disclose the prior art documents known to them in connection with the invention, and where those documents are in a foreign language, translation of the relevant passages may arise. Here too, consistency of technical terminology and preservation of measured values are essential; converting a value or letting a term drift misrepresents what the prior art shows. Priority dates and application numbers are in every case carried across as numerical identity, in the form the source gives them.

Patent texts can run to considerable length once the description (specification), the claims and the drawings are taken together, and since abridgement or summary is not acceptable, the whole of the text is carried across. Seeing the size of the job and the density of its terminology at the outset makes it possible to set a realistic delivery time and to head off a delay in the national phase timetable. Consistent use of a glossary across texts belonging to the same invention protects both the pace of the work and the integrity of the scope of protection; renderings settled once are used again in the other applications of the same family.

The USPTO and the PCT national phase

Protection in the United States is obtained either by filing directly with the USPTO or by an international PCT application entering the US national phase (within the framework of 35 U.S.C. 371). Where an application or a priority document drawn up in Turkish is to be taken to the United States, the USPTO asks for an English translation of the text and, in most cases, a declaration as to the accuracy of that translation. At which stage the translation will be needed has to be known from the outset, because national phase periods are strict and a missed date causes a loss of rights that has nothing to do with the technical content.

The translation of the claims sets the scope

In US practice the extent of protection is drawn by the claims; rendering a word in a claim with a broader or a narrower term directly changes what the invention covers. The cross-references, numbering and hierarchy between dependent and independent claims are preserved as they stand, and unless terminology is kept consistent between the specification and the claims, the document contradicts itself. Units of measurement and technical values are not converted; they are left in the form the source gives them.

No validation, but a declaration of accuracy

The national validation stage found in Europe does not exist in the United States; an application runs through a single office. Nor does the United States have a sworn translator regime, so where assurance is required it is the signed declaration of accuracy – a certified translation – that provides it. In an infringement action, the court will read the extent of protection from the translation, which makes the accuracy of the claim translation decisive.

• Do not alter the scope of a claim; preserve the structure of the cross-references.
• Plan the national phase periods at the outset.
• Where required, check that the declaration of accuracy has been added.

The United States is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention; if an apostille is needed, check the current position on the official HCCH list. You can plan your procedure through our single office in Ankara Kızılay, see the cost on our pricing page and request a quotation by uploading your document. This page is for general information; for registration strategy, consult your patent attorney.