What should a translation cost ?

Face it : nobody wants to pay more for a translation than is strictly necessary.  And translations in the framework of a patent procedure (EPC, PCT or national) are often seen as a cost to be minimized.  This assumption is correct .. with a few nuances.  A translated patent claim for an EP-grant should not state something else than the original : it might generate confusion about the scope of the claim, and in some countries (such as Austria) the scope is determined by the scope of the translation if this scope is smaller than the original scope !  Therefor, such a translation should be of excellent quality.  A translated patent application for entering a national phase coming from the EPC or PCT should be correct to the last colon, as it is the translated text that will determine the rest of the prosecution, and the scope of the claims.  Such a translation should be of an impeccable quality.  On the other hand, a translation for a validation may be of a lesser quality : it is a mere formal step in the procedure up to grant, there is very little change that anyone will ever read it, and in case of a (national) legal action against that patent, in most countries, the patentee is entitled to correct any errors in the patent translation.  Therefor, such a translation should be of a good quality.  Note that under the UPC, the latter translations will be provided by the EPO as a Google machine translation – obvious to say that a consistently good quality will be an issue !  Therefor, ask us for our differentiated fees.  We will not overcharge you.