What translation services are available for foreign patent documents?

This page is an FAQ based on guidance from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only: it is not legal advice.

The USPTO provides several translation services for foreign patent documents:

• Oral assistance from translators in the Translations Service Center of STIC
• Human (written) translations of pertinent portions of references
• Machine translations
• Access to previously translated documents

According to MPEP 901.05(d): “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. Examiners may also request human (written) translations of pertinent portions of references being considered for citation or already cited in applications.”

Examiners can request translations using an online Translations Request Form, contact in-house translators directly, or visit the Translations Service Center in person for immediate assistance. The STIC also maintains a list of available machine translation tools on its website.