Key sentence from original specification:
「すなわち、印刷デバイス特性情報３４ｂは、ＣＭＹ値の３次元の色変換テーブルをＫの含有率毎に備えることによって、ＣＭＹＫ値の４次元のデータを管理している。」
Original translation:
Namely, the print-device-property information 34b manages four-dimension data of a CMYK value by including a color conversion table of three-dimension of a CMY value for each content rate of K value.
Judge’s retranslation fix by Judge-filed amendment:
That is, with the print-device-property information 34b, four-dimensional CMYK value data is administered by the information’s furnishing three-dimensional CMY value color conversion tables on a per K-content percentage basis.
Claim 1 (currently amended): A color conversion apparatus (…) wherein:
the print-device-property information (…) iii) administers four-dimensional CMYK value data by providing three-dimensional CMY value color conversion tables on a per K-content percentage basis.
Examiner’s statement of allowance:
The foregoing case example, taken from among the hundreds of applications that Judge has prosecuted, is one of any number of instances in which Judge’s fixing translation problems led directly to allowance.
- Judge’s expertise in patent-specification translation and its attendant difficulties, combined with Judge’s ability to understand the heart of an invention quickly, and his quarter-century of patent-prosecution experience, allow him to zero in on the causes of Japanese applicants’ U.S. patent prosecution problems, and to recommend and carry out the best, most efficient, and most economical solutions to the problems.
- Claims in Japanese patent applications are usually written in highly functional language, making the interpretation of the claims highly dependent on the examiner’s reading of the specification. While functional claiming is permitted in the U.S., it is highly problematic, both during prosecution and during enforcement.
- What is more, while the applicant is generally free to use any terminology that clearly sets forth the invention, there are advantages to using the terms of art. Namely, terms of art often lead to better searches by the examiner, and terms of art produce claims that put competitors more clearly on notice of the patent holder’s rights, and that can better withstand legal challenges during licensing negotiations and enforcement.