The obvious solution is an EU patent that would be legally binding in all EU member states, and require minimal or no translation. That has long been a dream of European officials, but disagreements about language and other issues have prevented the EU patent from coming into being.

Now the European Commission is proposing a compromise that would allow European patents to be submitted to the EPO in just one of the office’s official languages – French, German, or English. The claims would still have to be translated into the other two languages, which is line with the current reality. In case of litigation, the patent holder would have to provide a full translation into the language where the infringement process is taking place. Most patent applications in Europe are already filed in English, and French and German are the next most common languages, so the time and cost of translating patents for Europe would be drastically reduced.

Unfortunately it doesn’t look like this regulation is going to pass anytime soon. Spain and Italy are strongly opposed to having their languages dropped, and several other European countries are also against it. EU officials predict heated discussions in the coming months as they seek a compromise solution that all 27 EU members are willing to sign up for. Morningside will continue monitoring the situation and update our readers on developments.

But your translation costs can be significantly lowered if two or more of your target countries speak (roughly) the same language.

For example, one Latin American Spanish translation (with minor modifications) will suffice for Mexico, Venezuela, and Argentina, and the other Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. You probably already knew that.

But that Latin American Spanish translation can also be converted into European Spanish and used in Spain. Though there are important differences in grammar and vocabulary between European and Latin American Spanish, they are similar enough that one Latin American Spanish translation can be revised and utilized in Spain (and vice-versa). The fee for converting the translation is a fraction of the cost of commissioning an entirely new translation.

This is also the case when you need to translate a document for both Brazil and Portugal. While there are big differences in spelling, grammar, and terminology between Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese, one translation for either target country can still be edited and revised for use in the other.

The third common language that converts is Chinese. There are two forms of written Chinese: Simplified and Traditional. Simplified Chinese is used in mainland China and in Singapore. Traditional Chinese is used in Taiwan and Hong Kong and sometimes referred to as ‘Taiwanese.’ Simplified Chinese characters have fewer strokes than Traditional Chinese, which is why it’s called “Simplified.” Traditional Chinese also uses far more characters (about 13,000 vs. about 8,000 in Simplified Chinese). Despite these differences, it is still quite feasible to commission one translation for use in both mainland China and in Hong Kong and Taiwan. But because Traditional Chinese is more complex than Simplified Chinese, it is much easier to convert TC to SC than the other way around.

The bottom line: If you are translating for Latin America and Spain, Brazil and Portugal, or China and Taiwan, you can lower your translation costs substantially by asking your translation company to provide a single translation, and then converting that translation for use in the other country. Morningside offers this conversion service, which is especially relevant to our legal and patent translation clients. If you have questions about converting a translation, you can contact Morningside via phone or email and we will be glad to assist.

When is it necessary to get your translation certified? If you are planning to submit a translation to a courtroom or government office or agency, you may need to obtain a translation certification. Different courtrooms and agencies have different certification requirements, so you may want to check first to see exactly what kind of certification is required.

Morningside’s certified translations are regularly submitted to U.S. courtrooms, and to government and regulatory agencies including the Department of Justice, Citizenship and Immigration Service, FDA, USPTO, and the United Nations. Our certified translations have also been successfully submitted to courtrooms, government agencies, and patent offices across the globe. We provide most types of certification free of charge.

Do you have a questions about certifying a translation? Call Morningside at (212) 643-8800.

This is referred to in the translation industry as text expansion and contraction. In other words, the number of words in a document usually increases or decreases when the document is translated. While we can’t give an exact prediction of the final word count, translation companies use ratios based on typical expansion/contraction rates for different languages pairs. For example, in English to German translation, the word count typically contracts by 20%, and therefore this is the ratio that most companies use. If you have ever seen a German compound word like Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänsmütze (Danube steamboat shipping company Captain’s hat) you’ll understand why.

Calculating expansion or contraction during translation is not an exact science. Depending on subject matter and terminology, and also the quality of the writing, the text may expand more or less than the ratios predict. That is a major reason why Morningside—and most translation companies—provide the estimated cost, and not the exact cost for translating a document. But Morningside always utilizes the most conservative ratio when providing estimates to avoid any unpleasant surprises when the invoice arrives. Because of this, the actual cost for getting a document translated by Morningside is often lower than our estimated cost.

There are plenty of English words whose foreign origin is quite obvious. We can guess where chauffeur, angst, and desperado come from (French, German, and Spanish). But many words that sound like “classic” English also have a foreign origin, and the origin is not necessarily European or even Indo-European–you have probably used a few words today that come from languages that many of us have never heard of. Here are a few examples:

• Ketchup – The word comes from Amoy, a Chinese dialect, where it meant the brine of pickled fish.
• Barbecue – The quintessential American cooking tradition, BBQ actually comes from Carib, a language spoken in northern South America and the Caribbean.
• Sugar & Candy – These sweet words come from Sanskrit, the ancient Hindu language of Northern India.
• Husband – The word comes from Old Norse, the extinct language of the Vikings, where it meant “master of the house.” In modern American usage, it often means the exact opposite.
• Pal – The word comes from Romany, the Gypsy language, where it means brother or comrade.
• Tank – As in water tank. The word comes from Gujarati, a language spoken in India.

In December, EU ministers made a big breakthrough in negotiations concerning the EU patent, agreeing to set up a single patent court for the EU. But the plan still has a long way to go, and for now, 27 EU governments are awaiting a legal opinion from the European Court of Justice and the input of the European Parliament before moving ahead.

What does this mean for patent translations? Since the London Agreement went into force in May 2008, most EU countries do not require translating a full patent into one of their official languages if the patent was drafted in one of the official languages of the EPO (i.e., English, French, or German). Several contracting states still require that the claims be translated into their official language, but do not require a translation of the description. The London Agreement has certainly reduced the translation costs involved in filing patents in Europe, which, according to the EPO, can account for over 40 percent of the overall filing costs. (For biotech and chemical patents, the translation costs can be significantly higher.) But the London Agreement—while it reduced the need for patent translation—did not solve the problem of high translation costs in Europe. Many EU states still have not signed the London Agreement, and as anyone who has filed a long patent application broadly across Europe knows, the translation costs can still be exorbitant, easily exceeding $100,000 when filing with expensive foreign associates. The EPO’s goal of a “post-grant language regime” where only claims have to be translated into national languages and the description can remain in English only still seems quite far away, and getting patent protection in the EU still costs 11 times as much as it does in the United States.

Obviously, an EU patent would supplant the London Agreement and could eliminate the need for any translations if the original application is written in English. Morningside will continue to closely monitor developments at the EPO and the EU as far as translations are concerned, in our continued efforts to reduce translation costs for our clients.

Morningside’s corporate responsibility includes active participation in staff volunteer opportunities throughout the community, as well as discounted interpretation and translation services for pro bono legal casework and cause marketing projects.

For more information regarding our Pro Bono translation services, please visit: http://www.morningtrans.com/about/contributions-pro-bono

Morningside Translations is pleased to announce the launch of its new and improved website. The upgraded website is a reflection of our company’s expansion. Our goal is to provide our visitors with a virtual experience that is as compelling as a visit to any of our offices. The updated site includes social media features that allow visitors to engage with the Morningside Translations team.

ATA Annual Conference NYC

We hope you connected with Morningside Translations at the American Translators Association (ATA) Annual Conference in New York City from October 28 to October 31, 2009.  If you missed us at the Job Marketplace, please visit our Careers page at www.morningtrans.com/careers.

Check out pictures from the event, and become a Fan of Morningside, on our Facebook Page.