How does the USPTO handle non-English language prior art documents?

The USPTO handles non-English language prior art documents as follows:

  • Examiners may rely on a machine translation or a translation provided by an applicant to determine the content of non-English language prior art.
  • If the document is in a language the examiner understands, they may use their own translation.
  • For documents of particular relevance, the examiner may request a human translation from the Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC).

As stated in MPEP 901.05(d): “If the examiner believes that a machine translation or translation submitted by an applicant is not accurate, the examiner should obtain a human translation from STIC.”

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Tags: human translation, machine translation, non-english prior art, uspto translation