This talk will provide a brief history of machine translation (MT) technologies, from rules based, to statistical, through human assisted MT (HuMT) and neural MT. Are machine translations capable of producing a set of documents suitable for search purposes? Can readers of patent documents reach an understanding of the invention and the scope of protection using machine translation of patent documents? Does this vary by technology? By language (pair)?. How has the existence of bulk machine translated collections influenced our approach to search and analysis of patent documents? How are developers of MT collections managing their collections as MT itself improves? How should we report results when MT documents are cited? What is allowable for legal and prosecution purposes?. This talk aims to provide a review of how users view machine translations of patents. By presenting the current situation it will conclude by looking at future options for retrieval and review of patents in any language for legal, business and learning. Jane List runs her own business, Extract Information Limited, which she founded in 2013. Extract Information provides consultancy, search services, and training, all with a focus on commercial uses of patent information. She is currently helping her clients manage their IP portfolios, build IP strategies and policies, file strong patents, understand competitor patents, understand the technology landscape, understand the market(s) for their technology, track their industry, find new customers and markets. Jane has BSc. in Chemistry, MSc. in Information Science and Cert. in Intellectual Property Law. She is a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, BPIP, WON and PIUG. In July 2014 she became co-Editor in Chief of World Patent Information Journal, and since September 2016 Editor in Chief. In 2015 Jane co-founded the Cambridge Information and IP Meeting (CIIPM) to host an annual meeting and to provide training in IP information and IP commercialisation matters. Prior to Extract Information, Jane held product development roles in ProQuest Dialog, and Lighthouse IP Group, and she previously worked at The Technology Partnership, where she spent 12 years providing IP and information consulting for TTP’s clients in medical devices, printing, food industry, consumer products, drug delivery, clean energy, displays and more. Prior to TTP Jane worked at DataStar, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Wellcome PLC), The British Library and Thames Water.

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Extract Information Limited
www.extractinfo.info
Jane List
Consultancy
Search Services
Training
Patent Information

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Machine Translations for patent search and
analysis: A user centric view
Jane List
Extract Information Limited
Tuesday 24th April 2018

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Machine translation for patent search and analysis
– Introduction
– EI Info Blog and ds9 solutions
– What is a Patent?
– What is English?
– Patent machine translation history
– Finding information in machine translated patents
• Technologies. Company names.
– Assessing the relevancy of your results
– Summary

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Extract Information Limited
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Search, Training, Consultancy
since 2013
based in Cambridgeshire
clients in: information industry; technology companies; legal IP firms; governmental and research
organisations
www.extractinfo.info
extracting information; generating value

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World Patent Information
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Published quarterly since 1979
The journal for intellectual property information and its retrieval, documentation,
classification, search, analysis and IP management
Editorial Advisory Board
26 members
Peer reviewed journal
• All IPRs and their information and management - patents, utility models; copyright,
trademarks, registered design; design rights; trade secrets; database rights; traditional
knowledge; indigenous knowledge; geographical indications
https://www.journals.elsevier.com/world-patent-information

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Industry intelligence with Deep SEARCH 9 Tracker
Since April 2016
• What’s new for patent information
• New products and enhancements to patent information databases, search, analysis,
software and services. Includes content, search technology, post search results review,
uses of patent information, IP service provider updates, IP office trends.
• In the background is Deep SEARCH 9’s web content analytics technology
6http://www.extractinfo.info/info-blog/

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Deep SEARCH 9 Solutions Tracker and Archive
7www.deepsearchnine.com

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The language and languages of patents
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“Without translation, I would be limited to the borders of my own country.
The translator is my most important ally.
He introduces me to the world.”
Italo Calvino

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Patents and Languages
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Source: WIPO IP Facts and Figures 2017
2016 data
Utility models
Patents

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Patents : The basics and why language is important
• A technical and a legal document
• Provides a monopoly to the inventor to prevent others from making the same
invention
• In the jurisdiction authorising the patent
• For a limited time period
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the disclosure (description)
‘normal’ language
background
summary
drawings
must support the claims
introduces new words to describe the invention
inventors can define their own definition of words
the scope (claims)
‘legal’ language
hierarchical – refer back
fall back positions
very precise
very broad

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Geography and languages of PCT published applications
PCT Official languages for publication:
English, French, German, Japanese,
Russian
Since 1985 - Spanish
Since 1994 - Chinese
Since 2006 - Arabic
Since 2009 - Korean and Portuguese
48%
26%
26%
% of published applications in 2016
by region
Asia
Europe
North America
16%
17%
43%
24%
2016 Top 10 PCT publication
languages by applicant
JP
KR
ZH
US
0
200000
400000
600000
800000
1000000
1200000
CN JP KR US
PCT Filings 2009 and 2015
2009 2015

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EPO translation requirements are changing
– Applications
• three official languages - EN, FR, DE
– Grants
• Claims in all three official languages
• Full human translations required by some countries
– 28 languages over 38 countries
• London Agreement since 2008
– 8 countries use an official language (CH, FR, DE, GB, IE, LI, LU, MC)
– 13 countries require a translation of claims only into their own language
– Possibly forthcoming unitary patent
• Only applies to EPO states within the EU
– Patents not in English require an English language human translation upon
grant.
– machine translations provided by Patent Translate for the other languages
(28 EPO LANGUAGES plus ZH, JA, KR, RS).
– Not legal quality - get the ‘gist’
– Neural through English key
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What is English?
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History of machine translation for patents
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2012
on the fly
First:
EN, FR, DE, ES, IT, PT, SE
Now: 32 languages
PATENTSCOPE®
2010
Statistical
Patent TranslateTCNIPI
Mid-1960s
JPO PAJ
1994
English
Russian
Japanese
English
PATENTSCOPE®
NEURAL MACHINE
TRANSLATION SYSTEMS
WITH RARE WORD
PROCESSING
US 2016-117316-A1
2016->2001
EU / pluto
Hybrid
CLIR
Toshiba
Hybrid

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Technology searching in machine translated patents
Key (new) terms and phrases may be muddled
Proximity operators
Semantic search options
Similarity search
Word - order
Description, Claims
Classifications
Title and Abstract

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Company names and how to find them
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Standardized Name Goldstandard Diagnostics Inc
Original (Transliterated) Name Jiangsu Jinbiao Century Biotechnology Co Ltd.
Title Publication number Publication date Inventor(s) Applicant(s)
Colloidal gold test kit for myocardial infarction CN204302290 (U) 29/04/2015HU WENBO; LI JING
JIANGSU JINBIAO CENTURY BIOTECHNOLOGY CO LTD;
HU WENBO
Myocardial infarction rapid detection kit and preparation
method thereof CN104569433 (A) 29/04/2015HU WENBO; LI JING
JIANGSU JINBIAO CENTURY BIOTECHNOLOGY CO LTD;
HU WENBO
Rapid and quantitative human myeloperoxidase (MPO)
immunochromatographic detection kit CN204330777 (U) 13/05/2015
YANG JUN; HU WENBO;
LI JING
GOLDSTANDARD DIAGNOSTICS INC; HU WENBO;
YANG JUN
Colloidal gold kit for rapidly detecting myocardial infarction CN204330776 (U) 13/05/2015HU WENBO; LI JING GOLDSTANDARD DIAGNOSTICS INC; HU WENBO
Colloidal gold kit for detecting myocardial infarction CN204330772 (U) 13/05/2015HU WENBO; LI JING GOLDSTANDARD DIAGNOSTICS INC; HU WENBO
Colloidal gold kit for detecting myocardial infarction CN204330770 (U) 13/05/2015HU WENBO; LI JING GOLDSTANDARD DIAGNOSTICS INC; HU WENBO
Renal failure rapid detection triple kit and preparation method
and application thereof CN104865384 (A) 26/08/2015HU WENBO; LI JING JIANGSU JINBIAO CENTURY BIOTECHNOLOGY CO LTD

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Assessing the relevancy of your results
“Translation is like a woman: if she is faithful, she is
not beautiful; if she is beautiful, she is not faithful.”
Russian Proverb

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Handling large numbers of results in Asian languages
• Tendency for greater number of hits
• Takes longer time to judge relevancy
• Wait for equivalents to be published in English
• National Phase Entry?
• Review original language document too
• Readability vs accuracy
Typical results ratio of languages
WO2017011929A1 26th January 2017
Title and Abstract in English
Specification / Full text in Chinese

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Machine translations in prosecution practice
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..May require a translation of the
document or relevant parts thereof
in one of the official languages of the
EPO…
EPO Examination Guidelines Rule
3(3)
Y Examination searching by the offices
X Overseas Filings
• Human translation
• Certified translation
X Invalidity and Opposition
• Preliminary review – ‘getting the gist’
• Oppositions proceedings need a
• Human translation
• Certified translation
NOTICES *
JPO and INPIT are not responsible for any
damages caused by the use of this translation.
1.This document has been translated by computer. So the translation may not
reflect the original precisely.
2.**** shows the word which can not be translated.
3.In the drawings, any words are not translated.
CLAIMS
[Claim(s)]
[Claim 1]
Are an aqueous ink for inkjet recording an ink jet head to discharge, and the
aforementioned ink jet head, A part where the aforementioned aqueous ink contacts is formed from
two or more kinds of metallic members, and
at least two of the two or more aforementioned kinds of metallic members. An
ink jet head whose absolute value of maximum difference of rest potential in reference electrode
Ag/AgCl in the aforementioned aqueous ink of the two or more aforementioned kinds of metallic
members which are electrically connected and were electrically connected is 60 mV or less.

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Summary and some suggestions
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• Please insert the date the translation was created in an MT collection
• MT versions of the same document may be useful
• Terminology changes naturally over time
• What is the legal validity of machine translations?
• Can we have more clarity from the offices.
• Machine Translations are vital for our work
• For certain tasks it might also be useful to search in original language + translate
the results

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Extract Information Limited
www.extractinfo.info
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“The first rule of translation: make sure you know
at least one of the bloody languages!”
Faiz Ahmad Faiz

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The End
Thank you for listening.
jane@extractinfo.info
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Any Questions?

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References
PCT stats 2016 http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2017/article_0002.html
PCT stats database https://www3.wipo.int/ipstats/IpsStatsResultvalue
JPO JP ABSTRACT https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/web/all/top/BTmTopEnglishPage
https://www.foodfortranslators.com/2014/10/26/best-quotations-on-translation/
Jason Brownlee https://machinelearningmastery.com/introduction-neural-machine-
translation/
https://sites.google.com/site/acl16nmt
https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/guidelines/e/a_vii_3_4.htm
http://www.scienceeditingexperts.com/uk-and-us-spelling