Translate patents better faster

What is IP.Translator and which benefits does it offer?

Machine translation tools can deliver translations easily and quickly, but so far, they do not reach the quality of professional human translators. IP.Translator combines an adaptive translation algorithm with human feedback to efficiently produce a high-quality translation. Using this technology, our customers have already translated over 2 million words.

IP.Translator is a translation program in the form of an easy-to-use Microsoft Word plugin, specially optimized for computer-aided translation of patent claims and patent specifications. For a Word file in the source language, IP.Translator provides sentence-by-sentence translation suggestions in the target language in the familiar Word environment via our Deep Learning based AI method. The translation suggestions can be easily accepted or conveniently adjusted to further optimize the translation. This feedback is then used by the neural translation algorithm to generate translation suggestions for the remaining text with the consistent terminology that is particularly important for patent translations.

The current version allows translations in any direction between English, German, and French (i.e. EN>DE, DE>EN, EN>FR, FR>EN, DE>FR, FR>DE). In case of interest in collaborating on further languages and fields of application, or just giving feedback, please contact us via support@ipappify.de

You can once get a test account, which allows to translate 20,000 words for free, and will not be extended automatically into a paid license.

Conventional computer translation software often does not translate individual terms consistently throughout a patent document and fitting to its specific technical field.

keyboard_arrow_rightIP.Translator includes a deep neural network trained with patent specifications from a broad range of technical fields, adapts itself during use and provides machine translation proposals with consistent formulations. It further involves a document-specific dictionary (glossary), in which you may enter preferred terminology, to control the choice of words to be used by the translation algorithm.

Where a preliminary translation is first created and then reviewed by a supervisor or the same person, IP.Translator can take over the role of an assistant and create the preliminary translation in beneficial manner.

keyboard_arrow_rightLarge cost savings: IP.Translator provides an inexpensive and easily adaptable preliminary translation at less than 5% of the common final fees.

keyboard_arrow_rightNo need to instruct and wait for an external translator or reserve much time in your own schedule: IP.Translator works whenever you like and completes your task by the deadline.

keyboard_arrow_rightNo need to repeatedly give same feedback: IP.Translator accepts your adaptations, learns from them, and applies your preferred formulations consistently.

keyboard_arrow_rightNo need to worry about typos: IP.Translator has no moments of tiredness. Errors, if any, occur on the scale of words.

  • How to use IP.Translator?arrow_drop_down

    • To use the software, you first need to register a user account and acquire a license (test or paid) or obtain permission to join an organization license.
    • Additionally, you need to download the installation file (see FAQ item "Download software and system requirements"). It sets up a mini-CAD tool in terms of a Microsoft-Word plugin. IP.Translator is hence not an independent application, but integrated as addon in Word and can be found there, after opening a document to be translated, under the tab "IP.appify".
    • When activating the "Translation Mode" in the menu, a login with your registered user account is required. The translation module is executed through a cloud service and requires an internet connection.
    • Upon preparing a document, the text to be translated will be automatically split into segments, which are to be translated individually, and when selected, the translation algorithm provides an adjustable translation proposal in a pop-up window.
    • During the translation process, the algorithm uses the already translated parts of the respective document as a dictionary to achieve a consistent choice of words in the target language. In order to provide the algorithm with explicit instructions, you can also create a glossary for the document to be translated, the use of which is additionally marked in colour in the text for visual control purposes. The glossary is stored in the document and can be exported for reuse in other documents, imported from previous translations, and can also be removed again.
    • The videos above illustrate further usage details (extended functionality in version 2.0), and a more detailed written guide of the current version can be found in these operating instructions.
  • What are the costs for IP.Translator?arrow_drop_down

    • Billing is usage-dependent and the cost is 0.005 EUR per translated word (i.e. <5% of the usual industry charges of translators of >0.10 EUR per word). The billing periods are calendar months and there is no basic fee. All prices are net prices and may be subject to VAT.
    • You can once get a free trial license, which is valid for a maximum of 20,000 words, and will not be extended automatically.
    • The translated words are counted in the source language. Any consecutive alphanumeric character string (including "-") is counted as a word. Only those segments are counted, for which translation proposals were actually provided by the translation module, and these are only counted once even if they are translated multiple times (translations can therefore be adapted and repeated as often as desired at no additional cost). See Terms and conditions for more details. The word count determined by the software can be inspected at any time for each document started within the last two months (in the ribbon menu under "View Usage").
    • You can also create an organization account for managing multiple users. To do this, you just need to request a Join Code when you purchase your first license. Additional users can thereby join your account without purchasing their own license. You will then receive a common invoice for all users.
  • Download software and system requirementsarrow_drop_down

    • Installation file complete: Addon latest version, exe (including Visual Studio 2010 tools for Office Runtime)
    • Installation file upgrade: Addon latest version, msi
    • The Word Addon has the following system requirements:
      Microsoft Windows 10 or later (no Mac OS support); .Net Framework 4.8 may have to be added
      Office 2016 or later
      Visual Studio 2010 tools for Office Runtime (Download from Official Microsoft Download Center)
    • For the translation module run via a cloud service, an internet connection and the following firewall permissions are required:
      https://iptranslator.ipappify.de/*
      https://ipappifyusers.b2clogin.com/*
  • How is the confidentiality of translation texts ensured?arrow_drop_down

    • Where you as user are obliged to professional secrecy with respect to the translation texts, we commit to maintain confidentiality as a service provider within the meaning of §43e(3) of the German Federal Lawyers' Act and §39c(3) of the German Patent Attorneys' Act (see Terms and conditions item 5a on IP.Translator).
    • The texts of your translation document in source language and target language will be stored permanently and completely only in your local Word file. The document will be translated segment by segment via an internet connection through a cloud service. However, only the texts used for translation of the current segment are transferred to a server and immediately deleted from the server after the respective translation proposal has been generated. From your translation processes, only access logs required for billing purposes remain stored on the server (word count, date, file name).
    • The used cloud service is certified according to ISO 27001 and its server is located within the European Union. It serves as a computing service to run a proprietary algorithm of IP.appify GmbH on a virtual machine. The login is handled by an authentication service with certified security standards. Data transmission is carried out using SSL encryption.
    • The translation texts of your document will not enter IP.Translator's permanent training data and will not be viewed by natural persons. The training data is rather obtained from legal public sources such as patent registers.
  • Is there also a completely local application?arrow_drop_down

    • For large-volume corporate licenses, we offer on request a local installation which does not transfer any data via the internet to a server.
    • The translation module then requires a current mid-range office PC (RAM: 8 GB recommended, 4 GB minimum; CPU: 4 cores with 3.5 Ghz (boost) recommended, 2 cores with 3.0 Ghz minimum) without any high performance graphics card.
    • In this case, billing takes place as a usage-independent fixed price.
  • New in version 2.0 (see second video)arrow_drop_down

    • The translation module is executed via an internet connection through a cloud service. This enables usage-dependent billing (even for low volumes), automatic updates of the language models and lower hardware requirements at the user side. Confidentiality of the translation texts is ensured (see FAQ item above).
    • The translation algorithm searches for its translation proposals to a much larger extent in segments of the current document that have already been translated and thus achieves a more consistent translation, even without explicit entries in the glossary. Additionally, previously translated bilingual texts can be imported as "translation memory" to achieve a consistent translation to similar documents.
    • A second language direction German into English has been added (selectable via a new menu item in the ribbon menu) and the language model for the first language direction English into German has been improved.
    • A new function "auto translate" has been added (top right in the pop-up window of the translation module). This automatically translates the remaining text in the document and displays it in orange as long as it has not yet been adapted by a human. This allows, e.g., a simplified translation service where you only control the claims to define the dictionary and let IP.Translator basically finish the description on its own.
    • A further function "apply & continue" has been added, which automatically jumps to the next segment when applying the translation for a segment in order to proceed quicker.

The technology behind IP.Translator

  • IP.Translator builds on most recent advances in language modeling and neural machine translation to deliver a highly performing AI solution for machine-aided translation. It employs a transformer-based deep neural network which has been extended to utilize explicit bilingual dictionary entries.
  • The underlying machine learning algorithm is specifically optimized for the translation of patent claims and specifications and is trained by up-to-date deep learning techniques using selected bilingual patent specifications and other patent literature as training data.
  • The dictionary entries made by the user influence the choice of words in the translation algorithm in order to achieve rare, document-specific preferred translations. This improves the quality of the machine translation and saves working time. Said advantage even increases when the dictionary is reused in other texts with similar subject matter.
  • The algorithm further uses a specially configured translation context, by which it searches for similar text passages in already translated parts of the edited document and which are applied for a more consistent translation word choice. This saves additional working time compared to manual entries in the glossary.
  • The technology for including explicit bilingual dictionary entries in the neural machine translation method and training has been invented by Dr. Thomas Eissfeller, the development lead of IP.appify GmbH. Patent applications covering this technology have been filed.