| Abstracts
& Bios
Practical
Aspects of Patent Translation
This presentation will look at the practical aspects of patent translation,
including an introduction of the documents an average translator
is likely to see and how to figure out their place in the patent
process. The speaker will illustrate how to determine the intended
use of the translation, which to some extent will determine the
formatting and style of that translation, as well as how to search
for, download, and print reference documents from the various patent
office websites. During a brief discussion of the set phrases that
occur in almost all patent translations, the speaker will examine
texts most often used in the major patent languages. A large portion
of this presentation will be dedicated to explaining a practical
procedure for drafting and revising a patent translation.
Tom
Clark is
a freelance translator in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has been
translating German and French patents, among other things, for more
years than he cares to admit. He also taught German and French translation
at the University of Pittsburgh from 1985-1999.
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A
Glimpse into the Workings of an In-house Patent Translation Department
This presentation will provide a brief history of a patent translation
department within one of the country's oldest and leading intellectual
property law firms. The speakers will discuss how the department
was formed, its greatest successes and failures, especially with
regard to the introduction of technology and networked translation
memories, and the recruiting and training of talented patent translators.
This presentation will also provide an overview of the procedures
and techniques used in translating each patent or patent application
and how to leverage the expertise of colleagues both in a team environment
and in freelance patent translation practices as well. The second
half of the presentation will be dedicated to the state of the department
today and the greatest challenges that it will face in the future.
This segment will also include a reflection on the recruitment of
new talent and thus will address the question of what it takes to
be an effective translator in this environment.
Suzanne
Gagliardi
is an ATA-certified (German- and French-into-English) independent
translator specializing in patent translation. She holds a B.A.
from Colgate University and has completed translation studies in
France, Austria, and Germany. After working as a translator in the
chemical and banking industry in Frankfurt and for a German microscope
manufacturer in New York, she became the translation coordinator
for Kenyon & Kenyon LLP, where, over the course of 15 years, she
had the responsibility of translating or of overseeing the translation
of thousands of patent applications. She has also appeared as a
guest lecturer at the New York University Certificate in Translation
program.
Hans-Jakob Wilhelm, Ph.D.,
a native of East Germany, holds an M.A. in German literature and
a Ph.D. in philosophy from McGill University. Translating mainly
from German into English, his experience ranges from corporate design
and marketing to technology, science, and philosophy, and his translation
work in these fields has resulted in a number of book publications.
In 2004, he joined the patent translation team at the intellectual
property law firm Kenyon & Kenyon LLP, where he recently assumed
the role of translation coordinator. He also teaches philosophy
as an adjunct professor at The New School in New York City.
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Techniques
for Preparing Exact, Literal, or Mirror Translations
This presentation will identify the situations in which varying
degrees of literalness are required, as well as the gray areas where
there is some debate. A literal translation technique based on a
"conservation of lexemes" will be described, together
with a discussion of "equivalent phrasing" and how to
choose between the two approaches. The speaker will touch on common
pitfalls in literal translations and how to avoid them, as well
as tips for adding translators' notes to literal translations and
how to deal with amendments.
Martin
Cross
began his career in translation 20 years ago as an in-house editor
of Japanese-to-English patent translations. He has since worked
as a translator and translation editor for law firms and translation
agencies in Japan, Italy, and France, translating from the languages
of all three countries. In 1997, he founded Patent Translations
Inc., which provides translations of patents in Japanese, Chinese,
German, French, and Russian. He now spends a lot of his time training
translators and editors in patent convention and patentese.
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Patent
Translation Handbook: A Progress Report
A multi-author book about the translation of patents into English
from languages other than Japanese has been in development since
2002. Progress on this complex project has been slow but steady,
and completion is now in sight. This session will summarize the
book's contents, introduce several of the authors, and give seminar
participants an opportunity to ask questions about the work and
its purpose.
Nick
Hartmann
began working full-time as an independent technical and scientific
translator in 1984, and now specializes in translating patents and
related documents, as well as other technical material, for corporate
clients and law firms in the U.S. and Europe. He was elected to
ATA's Board of Directors in 2004. Prior to this, he served the Association
as director and secretary, as administrator of the Science and Technology
Division, and as a member of the Client Education, Science and Technology
Information, and Terminology Committees, and The ATA Chronicle
editorial board. He is ATA-certified (French>English, German>English,
and Italian>English).
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The
Hitchhiking Translator's Guide to the Intellectual Property Galaxy
This presentation will provide an overview of intellectual property
law and the major issues in its three primary categories—patents,
trademarks, and copyrights. Using examples taken from actual court
decisions in the United States and Europe, the speaker will examine
what can be protected by intellectual property rights and what those
rights entail. Particular attention will be paid to language issues
that form an integral part of intellectual property law, such as
the abililty to protect a trademarked brand name and exclusive rights
over particular usages of language itself in copyright. The presentation
will also consider the role of multilingualism in intellectual property
cases that may be of special interest to linguists and translators.
Richard
L. Creech
is the proprietor of Esquire Language Services and provides foreign
language services to the legal community, including assistance with
document review projects and the translation of patents and other
legal materials. In addition to being a translator, he is an attorney
and language scholar whose career has focused on the interaction
of legal and linguistic systems. He has a bachelor's degree in linguistics
from Harvard University, a juris doctorate degree from the Northwestern
University School of Law, and a master's degree in international
and European law from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands.
He has authored several published works on the relationship between
language and law and has given frequent talks on this subject in
Europe, Australia, and the United States.
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