Smartidiom

PT | EN

Patent portfolio localisation for multi-market filing

Industry/Sector: Legal, Patents & Intellectual Property

Filing patents across multiple jurisdictions is a complex and high-stakes process. Each market requires compliance with its own legal terminology, technical formatting standards, and linguistic accuracy.

A single mistranslation can result in disputes, delayed approvals, or even rejection of the application. SMARTIDIOM successfully supported an international technology firm in localising a full patent portfolio across four jurisdictions, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timely filing.

The challenge

An international technology firm needed to file a portfolio of patents in four different jurisdictions, each with unique language requirements, legal frameworks, and technical terminology expectations. The project demanded:

  • Coordination of multiple translators and reviewers across time zones.

  • Consistency in technical and legal terminology across all documents.

  • Strict adherence to filing deadlines with no room for error.

Missing a deadline or submitting inaccurate translations could have meant the loss of IP rights, costly re-filings, and reputational damage.

SMARTIDIOM's strategy

Specialised legal and technical linguists:

We assembled a team of native-speaking translators with dual expertise in law and the relevant technical fields, ensuring accuracy in both legal claims and technical descriptions.

Jurisdiction-specific glossaries:

Our team created custom glossaries for each jurisdiction, covering both legal and technical terminology. These were validated in collaboration with the client’s legal department to guarantee compliance and consistency.

Coordinated global team management:

SMARTIDIOM coordinated translators and reviewers working across multiple time zones, ensuring 24/7 progress and minimising turnaround time.

Rigorous QA process:

All translations underwent multi-step QA, including linguistic review, terminology verification, and format validation to ensure compatibility with patent office submission requirements.

Deadline-driven workflows:

We implemented agile workflows to manage parallel streams of work, guaranteeing that all translations were finalised ahead of filing deadlines.

Challenges overcome

  • Cross-border coordination: Aligning teams across jurisdictions and time zones without delays.
  • Legal and technical complexity: Ensuring consistent terminology across diverse areas of law and technology.
  • Strict deadlines: Delivering translations on time for simultaneous multi-market submission.
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KPIs achieved

  • 100% acceptance by all four patent offices with no delays or resubmissions required.
  • Zero terminology disputes across filings, thanks to jurisdiction-specific glossaries and QA.
  • Streamlined future filings, as the validated glossaries and translation memories created during the project became a reusable asset for the client.

Conclusion

This project highlights SMARTIDIOM’s capability to handle highly technical, legally binding translations in the intellectual property space. By combining legal and technical expertise, jurisdiction-specific workflows, and agile project management, SMARTIDIOM ensured that the client’s patent rights were secured across multiple markets with precision, speed, and compliance.

What this client says

SMARTIDIOM’s expertise in both legal and technical translation was critical to our successful filings. Their ability to coordinate international teams and ensure consistency across jurisdictions gave us full confidence throughout the process.

Head of IP Department, International Technology Firm