How much will it cost to translate my patent?

We all like to have an idea of how much something will cost before we consider buying it. If you’re anything like me, it’s the first thing you look for! Don’t get me started on those shop windows without any prices… Yet the cost of services – and the cost of translation in particular – is rarely stated. Annoying, isn’t it?

It’s true that there isn’t really a standard price – or even a standard approach to pricing – that can be applied to every translation project. But having a ballpark figure in advance would go a long way to help you decide early on whether a translation provider would be the right fit for you.

That’s why in this blog post I’ll be answering the one question you’re guaranteed to ask me:

“How much will it cost to translate my patent?”

Since there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, I’ll be using some typical project scenarios. I’ll explain how I’d price each one, pointing out the different priorities and options and talking about the pros and cons of each. That way you’ll get an idea of what a similar project of yours might cost and whether it would be within your budget.

TL;DR

Essentially, I have three basic service options when giving you a quote for a project:

• Translation only
• Translation plus revision
• Post-editing of machine translation

If a quick comparison is all you’re looking for, here’s what a typical project – a 4500-word German to English patent translation – might look like with the three options:

The two translation options are generally priced according to the word count of the application whereas post-editing is charged by the hour. Post-editing can be both cheaper and quicker but is not suitable in every case, as you’ll find out below.

Got a bit more time to read on? Then let’s dive in with some more specific examples.

Free patent translation? 

Scenario 1

• Top priority: swift turnaround and minimal cost
• Service: N/A
• Volume: any!
• Turnaround time: instant!
• Price: free!

If your text is for information only and it’s OK to have a few errors or ambiguities in the translation – maybe as part of an initial patent search – this is the option for you. You don’t need me – or any translation service provider for that matter!

If it’s a patent application, for example cited in an office action, Espacenet’s Patent Translate or WIPO Translate would probably do the job for you. Otherwise, online machine translation tools such as Google Translate, DeepL or Reverso should be able to give you enough of an idea of what your text is saying.

But beware!

This option is absolutely not suitable for any text with legal consequences, e.g. an application for filing. Not just because the translation will undoubtedly contain errors and compromise your IP rights, but also because of data security.

These platforms will harvest the text you input and use it to train their engines. By that, I mean someone else will be fed the text and translation of your application if they translate something similar further down the line. This would likely be a huge breach of confidentiality, so is it really worth the risk?

How much will it cost to translate a prior art citation? 

Scenario 2

• Top priority: low cost
• Service: translation or post-editing
• Volume: 4500 words
• Turnaround time: 3-4 days
• Price: from £450 (€550) to £600 (€700)

If you are to base an attack or defence on the content of a prior art citation, e.g. a patent or an extract from technical literature, it’s crucial you understand what it says. But given the other fees and costs involved in patent examination and litigation, you might be looking for ways to keep the translation costs down.

If I was translating one of your applications for filing, I’d always recommend including the revision step. I work with a select group of trusted patent translation partners and one of them would review my translations to ensure your exacting quality standards are met.

That might be unnecessary here, though, and we could use the above translation-only price – around £600 – to stay within budget. (You could of course ask for revision as well if need be.)

If cost is the main deciding factor, we could use machine translation as in Scenario 1 to get the cost down even further – to around £450.

It’s less likely there would be any data confidentiality issues here as the citations would be freely available online. And working with machine translation can be quicker than translating from scratch, so this option could also reduce the turnaround time if you needed the translation back particularly quickly.

How much does an urgent German to English patent translation cost?

Scenario 3

• Top priority: swift turnaround
• Service: translation only
• Volume: 4500 words
• Turnaround time: 4 days, over a weekend
• Price: around £900 (€1100)

Urgent deadlines are sometimes unavoidable. But if you need a translation completed over the weekend to be ready on your desk by Monday, this will generally incur a rush fee of at least 50%.

Given that the overriding factor in this case would be time, it’s unlikely there would be any time for revision, so we’d use the same translation-only price as above – £600 – as the base for adding the urgency fee. (If you need a review step, you may be able to arrange it in house to save time and money.)

Machine translation could help with the quick turnaround in this case, but it would only be appropriate if the text of the application was not confidential, e.g. had already been published as a PCT application.

How much will it cost to translate a German PCT application into English?

 Scenario 4

• Top priority: spot-on accuracy
• Service: translation + revision
• Volume: 4500 words
• Turnaround time: non-urgent
• Price: around £990 (€1150)

This is the most common project for my business, with the application often being translated for filing in the US. Given the requirement for supreme accuracy, my clients generally ask for a revision step to be included in the price. They know that it’s best practice to have a second specialist look over the translation with a fresh pair of eyes.

In this case, there’s no rush to deliver, so no urgency fee needs to be added. (A project of this size with translation and revision steps would usually require 6-7 working days.) But this particular application does have several drawings containing lots of translatable text.

With drawings you have two options:

• If you need the translated captions added to the drawings directly, this would be added to the translation price at an hourly rate.
• If you can perform the DTP in house, I’d simply translate the captions as part of the translation, at no extra charge.

The first option would save you processing time when you receive the translation back but would obviously be more expensive.

Machine translation would not be appropriate in this case as the text is likely to be highly confidential.

How much will it cost to translate patent litigation?

 Scenario 5

• Top priority: spot-on accuracy
• Service: translation + revision
• Volume: 4500 words
• Turnaround time: non-urgent
• Price: £1100 (or €1300)

On the face of it, Scenario 5 looks the same as Scenario 4. Same service, same length, same turnaround. So why is it more expensive?

The difference is the type of text needing translation – in this case a German submission to be translated into English for an EPO opposition case.

Translating grounds of opposition (or similar documents such as replies or grounds of appeal) requires in-depth research – in a recent translation I had to cross-reference more than 40 documents, including four German laws, five aspects of EPO case law and nine prior art citations.

This extra research means translating litigation generally takes longer than translating an application, which gives rise to a higher project price.

As with Scenario 4, accuracy is paramount in these critical translations, so the revision step is always recommended.

Could machine translation help here?

In a word, no! Machines don’t understand what they are “translating”, so they are incapable of reproducing the extra nuance involved with litigation – and they might even make the work slower, leading to higher costs for you overall.

How much will it cost to translate IP case law?

Bonus scenario 6

• Top priority: spot-on accuracy
• Service: translation (no revision) + editing
• Volume: 4500 words of translation, 2000 words of editing
• Turnaround time: non-urgent
• Price: around £1300 (€1500)

Translating patent claims and applications is what keeps me busy most days, but a couple of times a year I get to translate and edit patent case law updates. These projects involve translating French and German case law summaries into English, plus editing English summaries written by native speakers of other languages.

Like with litigation, supreme accuracy is essential here – these words may be pivotal in future cases. This means lots of research and meticulous attention to detail are needed.

To keep things simple, these multifaceted projects are generally charged on an hourly basis. I’d provide an initial estimate of the entire project price, covering the time spent both translating and editing.

Based on an estimated translation output of 300 words an hour and an editing output of 1000 words an hour, an initial estimate for this project would be around £1300.

Of course, if the project takes less time than expected, then the final price will be lower.

OK, but what am I getting for my money?

Now, those scenarios are all well and good, but value for money is more important than price, am I right? And you need to know what kind of service you’ll be getting for that money.

First and foremost, you’d be working with a translator driven by honesty and integrity. You can rest assured that the quotes you receive will always be tailored specifically to your needs and contain the fairest price.

I do not compete on cost. The race to the bottom in terms of translation prices does not benefit you as the client in any way. The short-term financial gains from contracting a cheap translation service may be tempting, but if you can’t trust the quality to meet your standards every time, is it really worth the stress?

Expert German to English patent translations

By working with me, you’re getting an expert patent translator – a translator who’s been working with patent attorneys like you from the very start of his career; a translator who was recently described as “a safe pair of hands“.

Patent translation is highly specialised, and good patent translators are like gold dust. You might expect top quality and reliability to be a given, but I’ve heard from numerous clients that that’s just not the case – maybe you’ve had similar frustrating experiences.

You need a translator that delivers on time, every time. But not only that, you also need a translator who understands your business and treats it as if it were their own – someone who takes your goals and success as seriously as you do. And that’s exactly how I work.

Plus you’ll be working with me directly, with no intermediaries unnecessarily lengthening the chain. (Did you know that many agencies simply outsource to other agencies!?)

Not only does that mean that none of your valuable budget will be going towards hefty overheads for staff, IT, etc., but you’ll also have a direct line to your translator. I’ll be just a phone call away, saving you hours when it comes to having your queries answered, giving feedback or organising urgent turnarounds.

Get in touch

According to a recent Smartcat survey, businesses who worked directly with their translator reported receiving better quality, greater transparency and a more efficient service. If you want that for your patent translations, here’s how you can get in touch:

• Head to the contact page to send me a message – you can upload your document in the form too
• Email me on [email protected]
• Book a chat with me on Calendly
• Give me a call on +44 7847 374422 (always the quickest option!)

Have any other money questions? Maybe I can answer them right now:

• Do I pay up front or later?

Once you’re happy to go ahead, I’d usually ask for a 50% payment up front for the first project we work on together. After that, I’ll invoice for each project with delivery. Or if we start working together regularly, I can combine everything into one monthly bill to save you time.

• Can I pay in my own currency?

Payment is by bank transfer and I have bank accounts in GBP, EUR and USD, so there shouldn’t be any issues with transfer fees. Setting up accounts in different currencies is pretty straightforward these days, so if you don’t work with one of those three, I can look into a new account to make our working together as smooth as possible.

• Are revisions included in the price?

If you need any revisions making after I’ve returned your translation, I’ll take care of them at no extra charge. I’ll also make sure to ask for any of your preferences in terms of terminology or wording before I get started. However, if the text itself changes midway through a project for whatever reason, that might be subject to an extra charge.

Still looking for an answer to your question? Send me an email or give me a call and I’ll gladly answer it for you.