Patent Translation in Belgium: EPO, EPC and National Applications FR/NL/DE

Belgium has been a signatory of the European Patent Convention (EPC) since 1977. Any European patent application designating Belgium must be available in one of the three national languages - French, Dutch or German - and every claim must be translated with absolute precision, as the legal scope of the patent protection depends directly on it.

The European Patent Convention

The European Patent Office (EPO), headquartered in Munich, processes European patent applications in its three official languages: English, French and German. Belgium, as a contracting state to the EPC, recognises European patents that designate it, provided that the claims are available in one of its national languages.

Since the entry into force of the European Unitary Patent (EUP) in June 2023, applicants can obtain unitary protection in the participating Member States with a single application. However, patent documents remain largely drafted in English, and Belgian parties involved in infringement disputes or invalidity proceedings before Belgian courts must have certified translations in French or Dutch.

Types of patents requiring translation

• EPO patent applications: description, claims and abstract, to be translated into the chosen Belgian official language upon national validation
• US patents (USPTO): PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) applications entering the Belgian national phase, to be translated from English
• Japanese and Korean patents: translation from Japanese or Korean into French for EPO filings or exploitation licences
• Claims and technical descriptions: translation with precise technical terminology (chemistry, pharmacy, electronics, mechanics)
• Search reports and patentability opinions: translation of EPO examiner reports for non-French-speaking R&D teams
• Patent licence agreements: exclusive or non-exclusive licence agreements, technology transfer agreements - combined legal and technical translation

Precision in claim translation: a legal issue

Translating a patent is a legally sensitive act. An error in the translation of a claim - using "comprising" instead of "consisting of", for example - can radically alter the scope of protection. Belgian courts have ruled on infringement disputes based on the translated text; terminological fidelity is therefore a matter of intellectual property strategy.

The SPF Economy, responsible for patent policy in Belgium, may be consulted for certain aspects of national validation. Documents produced in this context must be impeccable. TranslateBE works with translators holding intellectual property law training and specialisation in the technical field of the patent in question.

Rates

Patent translation is charged per source word, at a slightly higher rate than standard technical translation due to the required specialisation. A short patent (5-10 pages) starts at €150. A complete pharmaceutical or chemical patent (20-40 pages) is estimated between €400 and €900 depending on terminological density. Sworn translation for judicial proceedings is available with a surcharge.