WIPO develops AI translation tool for patent documents

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has developed a new “artificial intelligence”(AI) based translation tool for patent documents.

WIPO announced yesterday, October 31, that it has developed the tool, called WIPO Translate.

WIPO Translate incorporates “cutting edge” neural machine translation technology to convert “highly technical patent documents” into a second language in a style and syntax that closely mirrors common usage.

The organisation said that the new technology, which has initially been trained to translate Chinese, Japanese and Korean patent documents into English, out-performs other translation tools built on previous technologies.

According to WIPO, patent applications in Chinese, Japanese and Korean accounted for 55% of filings worldwide in 2014.

Users can test out the Chinese to English translation technology through its  beta test platform.

WIPO plans to extend the technology to French patent applications, with “other languages to follow”.

The translation software technology has been shared with other organisations including the Food and Agriculture Organization, International Telecommunication Union, International Maritime Organization and the World Trade Organization.

Francis Gurry, director general of WIPO, said: “One of the aims of the patent system is to make technology available. Language is a barrier to the universal achievement of that aim.

“This breakthrough for WIPO Translate means that a vast and ever-increasing trove of patent documents will soon be more easily accessible to innovators who search these records for inspiration or technical know-how.”