How can patent examiners access translation services for foreign patents?
Patent examiners have several options for accessing translation services for foreign patents:
- Oral assistance from translators in the Translations Service Center of the Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC)
- Request human (written) translations of pertinent portions of references
- Use language reference resources and machine translations
- Submit online requests using the Translations Request Form on the USPTO intranet
- Contact in-house translators directly via phone or email
- Walk-in to the Translations Service Center for immediate oral and partial human translations
As stated in the MPEP: “Examiners may consult the translators in the Translations Service Center of the Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC) for oral assistance in translating foreign patents or literature that are possible references for an application being examined.”
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