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HomeResourcesJapanese Patent Translation BulletinNo. 15: Some Thoughts on Selecting Translation Service Providers for Japanese Patent Translation Japanese Patent Translation Bulletin No. 15 (May 7, 2010) Some Thoughts on Selecting Translation Service Providers for Japanese Patent Translation Executive Summary:  Finding out whether a potential translation provider should be entrusted with the translation of important Japanese patent documents is as easy as checking whether they have in-house Japanese capability. Separating Hype from Facts Many of those large translation companies that are selling to you on a daily basis claim to translate in every field and every language, but are usually very light in the area of in-house language capability. Most rely almost exclusively on translators they have never met and might never meet. Given this fact (and it is a fact), would you think that they are capable of evaluating the capabilities of the translators they use (including the ones in Third World venues) to do your Japanese patent translations? I think the answer is pretty clear. You need to examine potential translation providers more carefully, and that is not too difficult a task. Where's the Japanese? Surprising as it might seem, the business model of many translation providers does not generally involve having much in-house language capability, even in some of the major languages they claim to handle. But any translation provider proclaiming to provide translation of Japanese patent documents needs in-house Japanese capability, both to assure the quality of work that they subcontract (i.e., generally all of their Japanese-to-English work) and to evaluate potential vendors to which to outsource your documents. Does the provider you are considering have that in-house capability? The tools to answer that question are right at your fingertips. Use the Telephone.  More effective than simply waiting for the next sales telephone call or e-mail from that translation provider that constantly pitches to you is the approach of calling them to find out what kind of in-house capability they might have. There are several approaches that could be very revealing. Call and ask to talk to the person in charge of Japanese-to-English translation quality assurance. This approach is probably not the best, because it is the easiest one for the provider to fend off without any damage, since they can just transfer you to a non-Japanese-capable account manager who can repeat the provider's normal sales talk about all the expert translators they have. If that happens (and it likely will), ask to speak to the person who checks the translations they sell you. That person is in the office, right? If he or she is "out of the office" (most likely meaning: doesn't work here), simply offer to call back when the person gets back to the office. Have a Japanese staff member at your firm call the translation provider in Japanese. This cranks up the voltage, and could very well result in a real panic situation on the other end of the phone. If so (and even if not), it could be a valuable method of assessing whether the firm has in-house capability. The person who comes to the phone need not be a Japanese person, of course. Many non-Japanese translators speak Japanese. Certainly anyone working in-house to assure the quality of Japanese-to-English translations will speak Japanese.    Many law firms have Japanese attorneys or staff members. If your firm does not, simply enlist the assistance of a Japanese person to do this simple check for you. Have them ask the provider to explain their QA process. It is a small investment to assure yourself that the translation provider is not working entirely in the dark. Blowing Away the Smokescreens.  Translation providers put up a variety of smokescreens designed to short circuit a client's efforts to assess their capabilities. "Our Japanese-capable staff members are in Japan." I am a bit skeptical, although the statement might strictly be true. Yes, their Japanese-capable staff members are in Japan, but do those people participate in the quality assurance processes for your work? I doubt it, particularly at the bargain basement prices being offered these days by the larger translation brokers. The overseas offices of US translation brokers are usually focused on sales activities, not quality assurance. "All of our translations are executed by established professionals we trust." A claim similar to this would make sense for a car salesperson selling vehicles from a prestigious manufacturer with a long-standing reputation for quality. Such is not the case with translation. There are no manufacturing drawings or computer-aided design systems, nor are there internationally accepted standards of quality. In an industry in which almost 100% of the work is outsourced (and often to an unknowable translator), someone needs to take responsibility for assuring quality, and that means more than merely apologizing after the fact when a problem is discovered. Again, it takes in-house translation expertise and Japanese capability to achieve that. "All of our translations are done by certified translators." Of course certified translators never make mistakes, right? And who certifies them? The American Translators Association? Their certification is a good indication that that the translator is not a rank amateur. You need more assurance. Are the translators certified by the translation broker? If so, ask to speak with the person in charge of the certification process. Surely there should be such a person. Due Diligence A translation broker capable of providing high-quality translations without in-house quality assurance capability is either a miracle worker or blessed with clients not willing to evaluate their capabilities before spending money. To investigate beforehand, of course, is simply being pro-active in doing the reasonable due diligence that serves both your firm and its clients.

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