Can patent examiners rely on machine translations for non-English prior art?

Yes, patent examiners can rely on machine translations for non-English prior art, but with some caveats. The MPEP 901.05(d) states:

“Examiners may rely on a machine translation of a foreign language document unless the machine translation is not of sufficient quality to be adequate evidence of the contents of the document.”

Key points to note:

• Machine translations are generally acceptable for understanding the content of non-English documents.
• If the examiner doubts the accuracy of the machine translation, they should seek a human translation from STIC.
• The quality of the translation is crucial, especially for documents highly relevant to patentability determinations.

Examiners must use their judgment to determine if a machine translation is sufficient or if a more accurate human translation is necessary.

To learn more:

• machine translation
• patent examination
• non-English prior art
• translation accuracy