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This article investigates the impact of ChatGPT on the current language regimes in Europe for patent translation. With the growing number of patent applications being filed annually, there is a high demand for cost-effective and high-quality patent translation services. Despite advancements in translation technology, including ChatGPT, there remains a scarcity of research on the use of these technologies in patent translation, particularly with regard to the legal validity of machine-generated translations. The article takes an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating a review of regulatory documents, a preliminary evaluation of ChatGPT’s performance using the LISA QA matrix and a review of relevant doctrinal literature. The regulatory examination in this study centers on the provisions of the European Patent Convention and related legal documents that specify the language criteria for acquiring a patent within Europe. The preliminary evaluation uses a sample of 20 patents translated from English into Portuguese to assess accuracy, fluency and acceptability. The examination of available legal literature strives to attain a thorough comprehension of how laws and principles of the legal system are being put into practice in association with the progression of translation technologies. This article endeavors to examine the potential effects of utilizing ChatGPT in patent translation on existing language regulations in Europe and if new regulations will be necessary. It highlights the need for further research in this field to better understand the advantages and implications of using advanced language models in patent translation.

Machine translation represents a revolution in the patent system. It facilitates access to a vast amount of patent information on a global level during the different stages of patent prosecution, especially in searches for prior art documents. Moreover, disclosure represents one of the main arguments to justify the existence of patent rights, but how much of this information is actually disclosed by machine translation? The present research aims to investigate the level of disclosure of patent information made possible by machine translation and its implications for patent law. The guiding research question is: How and to what extent is patent content actually disclosed by machine translation? In order to reach the results, a manual method of translation quality assessment was used to analyse a sample of 100 patents, combined in different pairs of languages. Machine translated patent texts were also submitted for evaluation by researchers skilled in the art. The research is also based on a review of legal and theoretical sources. The results proved that, although improvements in patent machine translation are still necessary, most of the content of the patent is disclosed through it, with the average disclosure being almost 80%. As the concept of disclosure is a central one to patent law, it is hoped that this research will contribute to a better understanding of the current role of machine translation in patent law.