translation
Our Stance & Responsibility
The stance ip-pro takes in translation, and what we are responsible for. We set out — in operational terms — the values that underpin our work and the responsibility we bear.
Our stance — three value criteria
Methods and structure change from project to project, but the three values that underpin ip-pro's translation do not.
Supporting IP professionals — ip-pro for ip professionals
Our work is to support intellectual property professionals — and to do that well, we keep developing ourselves so that we, too, are professionals in supporting IP. When something is unclear, we talk it through internally, check with the client as needed, and propose the best response for that client.
The client defines quality — Adapt to the client's standards
What counts as "quality" is defined by the client, not by ip-pro. We take in the strategy, policy, needs, and background that differ from one client to the next, and align with the quality each client seeks — never confusing the quality we pursue with the quality the client is after. That is exactly why we tailor our service to each project rather than offer a single uniform one.
Delivered as a team — Team ip-pro
We never rely on one person's judgment alone; we work on quality as a team. To guard against complacency, we listen openly to others' views and settle our approach through internal discussion. Translators, checkers, and PMs share information and arrive at the best solution for the client.
These draw on ip-pro's code of conduct (our values and standards of behavior). For the full text, see Philosophy.
The responsibility ip-pro bears
ip-pro is responsible for the quality of its translation deliverables.
- Checking the translation, ensuring terminological consistency, and assessing the appropriateness of patent expression
- A final check before delivery
- Responding to, and investigating the cause of, mistranslations or inconsistencies found after delivery
ip-pro takes consistent responsibility for the quality of its translation deliverables.
What ip-pro does not do
To make the responsibility we bear clear, we also need to show what we do not do. So that clients can see this concretely, we set it out here in writing.
Delivering machine translation or AI translation output as is
A translator checks and corrects the output sentence by sentence
Deciding the translation method unilaterally to suit ip-pro
The method is decided for each project in consultation with the client
Settling for an inadequate explanation of how AI is used
We spell out in writing where it is used, who checks the work, how data is handled, and who is responsible
Cross-using translation data
We do not reuse it on other projects or for other clients, or for any purpose beyond what was intended
Proposals skewed toward only some conditions, such as price or turnaround
Each quote is built around the intended use and the client's circumstances
Skipping quality checks
Every deliverable goes through the prescribed checking steps before delivery
International standards
- ISO 17100 (the international standard for translation service providers) — certified (patents and IP / Japanese-English and English-Japanese)
About pricing
ip-pro prepares each quote around the project's intended use and the client's circumstances. We do not chase the lowest price; we propose a price that matches the deliverables the client seeks.
See also: