PATENT TRANSLATION… NOW WHAT?

PATENT TRANSLATION… NOW WHAT?

Having innovative ideas is an extraordinary gift. For this reason, it is essential to register and protect your inventions, to keep the secret of your success from being copied by third parties.

The protection afforded by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) is only valid in Portugal; as such, to guarantee the right of exclusivity of your invention internationally, you will have to file new patent applications.

Where do you want to protect your idea? In some specific country? In Europe, or beyond the European continent?

The European Patent Convention has facilitated the protection of inventions in European states by making it a single process that applies to multiple countries.

Check whether the countries you are interested in belong to the Convention – you can choose to have a European patent for one, several or all countries in the Convention. The application must be made with the European Patent Office (EPO), and must include, on a mandatory basis, the original documents and their translations into French, German or English (preferred).

The quality of the translation can make all the difference when protecting your invention, both when registering, and in the event of any disputes. This is why it is crucial to work with a professional translation service to leave no room for different interpretations of your invention.

Make sure that the translated documents are reviewed by a translator specializing in the specific domain to ensure that the protection granted by the patent right corresponds to the exact purpose and scope, as determined by the patent claims. Any ambiguity or inaccuracy may not protect against use by competitors.

In the latter case, a mistranslation may conflict with patents already registered in another language, resulting in the erroneous rejection of your application.

If the country where you want to protect your invention does not belong to the European Patent Convention or is not on the European continent, check whether it is a signatory to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), or visit your local embassy.