CAT Tools for Patent Translation

CAT Tools for Patent Translation

CAT stands for ‘computer-assisted translation’. CAT Tools are software applications that support the translation process from one language to another. The tools allow users to edit, create, store and manage translations.

The software allows the user to input source-language text into the CAT tool and segment the text into smaller fragments to reorganize them to make their translation more effective. In the meantime, the software records each source segment and its matching translation as an entry in a database, called translation memory (TM). The more content user translates, the greater the number of translations matches the software may reuse. This type of automation greatly accelerates the translation process and ensures consistency with previous translations. As soon as the translation memory identifies identical or comparable translation segments in a new translation project, the software enables the user to reuse previous translations with or without modifications.

Apart from the translation memory feature that allows user to ensure translation quality, CAT tool products in the market today have many beneficial features to use. One feature that helps user to ensure the accuracy and consistency of common or specialized terminology across translation projects is term bases, also called translation glossary. Term bases are databases providing definition or specific instructions for the use of translated terminology.

Our IP department has been using CAT Tools software to improve the quality and consistency of our patent translations, which typically involve technical or industry-specific terminology, for example, in the field of pharmaceutical, polymer, microbiology, and others. After using CAT tools for years, we are able to consistently and easily provide translations of the highest quality since we do understand that consistency in specification and claims play important role in the level and efficiency of patent protection. One advantage of CAT tools is that we can deliver the task more efficiently since we simply need to translate the required units. After the translation processes have been completed, CAT tools will generate a clean duplicate of the original file in the source language.

Thus, CAT tools help us to deliver the most accurate and high-quality translation. This software is very useful and makes the IP department of ILCT Ltd. always more competent.