United States: Auction Houses Continue With NFT Sales, Dictionary Adds ‘Non-Fungible Token'
19 May 2021
BakerHostetler
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Two well-known auction houses generated millions this week via cryptocurrency-related auctions. The first involved an auction for nine rare CryptoPunks, early non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that launched in 2017, which collectively went for nearly $17 million. The CryptoPunks that were sold in the auction all were among the first 1,000 minted by creator Larva Labs, and they were sold from the company's own collection. The second involved the sale of seminal artist Banksy's protest piece "Love is in the Air." The physical artwork sold for $12.9 million, and bidders had the option to bid in bitcoin or ether, with transactions to be effectuated through Coinbase Commerce. According to reports, the sale "marks the first time cryptocurrency was accepted as a payment option for a piece of physical artwork."
Also this week, Merriam-Webster added to its dictionary a definition of "non-fungible token" and commemorated the announcement by auctioning an NFT version of the definition on OpenSea, a popular NFT marketplace. The auction ends today, with proceeds being donated to Teach For All, "a network of organizations from 60 countries aiming to tackle educational inequality around the world."
One of the world's largest online peer-to-peer marketplaces has begun experimenting with NFTs as well, for the first time allowing sellers to peddle NFTs on its platform. A select number of sellers will be provided with NFT inventory, with plans by the marketplace to expand its NFT offerings over time, according to reports.
With "Bitcoin Pizza Day" just around the corner, customers of a large pizza restaurant chain in the U.K. will have an opportunity to receive bitcoin for purchases that reach a certain threshold of value. Customers will be able to claim their bitcoin through the Luno cryptocurrency exchange. Bitcoin Pizza Day is a commemorative "holiday" that celebrates May 22, 2010, the day that is generally recognized as the first time a person engaged in a commercial transaction of cryptocurrency in exchange for two pizzas.
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The French Connexions Cultural Center at Washington University in St. Louis will host a virtual symposium on “Video Games in Translation” on Saturday, May 22.
Lionel Cuillé, founding director of French Connexions and teaching professor of French in Arts & Sciences, organized the event, which will feature lectures and panel discussions with more than a dozen academics and industry professionals. Sessions will explore the place of video games on American campuses and in the city of Quebec (home to industry powerhouse Ubisoft Quebec); their role in teaching language and culture; and questions related to gender and stereotyping.
“Video Games in Translation” is co-sponsored by Washington University, Webster University and Saint Louis University, and is made possible by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States and by the Quebec delegation in Chicago. The event is free, but registration is required. For more information, visit French Connexions on Facebook.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nearly 100 volunteers worked for 15 years to produce the world’s first complete Bible translation into American Sign Language (ASL) on video.
The final book of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in ASL video was released on February 15, 2020, during a dedication program for a new translation office in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
“For us, it’s been a 15-year journey, and we can finally say it’s complete,” said Jeremy Mallory with the ASL Remote Translation Office.
There have already been 41 million individual video chapter downloads of this version of the Bible, as many rely on their faith to cope with uncertainty, anxiety and loss amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robert J. Hendriks III, U.S. Spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses tells 8 News Now that this translation effort has affected more than just Jehovah’s Witnesses. He pointed out that in the United States, those who use ASL to communicate only amount to about 10,000 in congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Of those people, only around 2,500 of them are actually deaf. The rest are those who support those congregations as volunteer teachers of the Bible in ASL.
“I have everything at my fingertips,” signed Lilli’Ann Ibanez, a deaf woman who attends a sign language congregation in Las Vegas.
This newly released ASL Bible translation brought tears to the eyes of one reader.
“I didn’t feel goose bumps when I read the Bible in English, but the moment I started watching the Bible in sign language, I couldn’t help but shed tears,” shared Isias Eaton, who attended the program in Florida when the ASL Bible translation announcement was made.
TECHNOLOGY CATCHES UP
“It was the first time in history, the Deaf community, those who read and spoke ASL, had a complete Bible available to them in any community, anywhere on the globe,” said Hendriks, of the translation of all 66 books of the Bible.
The translation work began with the release of DVDs, which was cumbersome, difficult to navigate for the end user and would end up being difficult to use.
As time went on, Hendriks says they were able to put the video translation online and on a smartphone app, “putting this powerful translation in the palms of people’s hands.”
JW.ORG, Man watching ASL Bible on a tablet
Hendriks shared the religious organization’s goal was not just to translate this complex and sophisticated language literally, but to accurately translate thoughts, and then transmit it in video.
SIGN LANGUAGE TRANSLATION PROCESS
There are generally three people on a translation team, according to the remote translation office (RTO).
One person focuses on generating translation ideas, the second on the accuracy of the translation, and the third watches closely to ensure the interpretation is natural and easy to understand.
“When they did a translation of a text that was so literal that it could only be understood, literally, it was often very illogical,” said Nicholas Ahladis with translation services of Jehovah’s Witnesses. “And it often meant that the sign language translation team had to go back to the drawing board and come up with a revised text that would be more understandable.”
ASL video translation services, JW.ORG
After the text is analyzed in English, Hendriks says RTO members hold a project meeting to discuss translation challenges to ensure everyone is on the same page with the meaning of a text before the translation filming begins.
Their translation system is more thought-for-thought, rather than word-for-word, according to Geoffrey Jackson of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The ASL Bible Team of Jehovah’s Witnesses were the first to use a live review panel for Bible translation to produce a high-quality product.
“His image of what the Bible is trying to say to us should be the same as a person reading the Bible in English or any other language,” explained Bobby Dunbar, Translation Services of Jehovah’s Witnesses in New York.
The translation team worked hard to ensure no concepts were missing or added in their translation of the New World Translation Bible from English text to ASL video.
“If that thought can be conveyed in an accurate way, in a meaningful way, that’s what it’s all about,” added Jackson.
LOCAL COMMUNITY REACTION
“When it comes to reading the Bible, watching it in ASL, I have it downloaded in an app on my phone and tablet so I can use it for study,” Ibanez shared.
Tory and Jamie Jaramillo, a hearing couple, work as licensed sign language interpreters in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jamie is the hearing daughter of two deaf parents, and English is her second language.
“As a child of two deaf adults, I identify linguistically and culturally with the deaf community,” Jamie said. “What I choose to do for my secular work is I am an American Sign Language interpreter,” she added.
Jamie Jaramillo, Sign-language interpreter J, CI & CT, NIC Master
As a Jehovah’s Witness, Jamie chooses to volunteer her time teaching the Bible. She says over the years, it has been very difficult because of a lack of access to the complete Bible in ASL video.
“Written form doesn’t reach their hearts in the same way as watching it,” said Jamie.
“As a Sign Language interpreter here in Nevada, I work very hard to try and give an accurate interpretation, but interpreting is kind of like art. You’re doing it without having information beforehand, versus the effort that goes into a translation, like the New World Translation [Bible],” Tory explained.
Tory Jaramillo, Sign Language Interpreter BA,CI & CT
With the pandemic dragging on, Jamie says the isolation has proven more severe for members of the Deaf community. She has noticed that the mental and emotional health of her students has been impacted.
“The Bible provided for the deaf could not have come at a better time,” Tory added.
Richard and Sari Cardona are hearing parents who learned sign language and virtually attend ASL religious meetings to support their deaf son.
Spanish is their first language, but the family decided to move to an ASL congregation to learn the language and help their son.
Richard Cardona Sr. moved his family to Las Vegas and joined an American Sign Language Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses to teach his deaf son about the Bible
“As the father of a deaf son and as immigrants, when we moved here to the United States, it was very difficult,” Richard said. “In 2019, we moved here to the city of Las Vegas and received great support.”
“When parents who are not deaf find out that they have a deaf child, this can be very unexpected, and sometimes even frustrating. We know that this has an influence on the child’s emotional and social development,” Sari shared. “As a mom I would ask myself, ‘How can I teach my son the truths from the Bible?’ But God never forgets anyone, regardless of his disability.”
Sari Cardona learned sign-language to better communicate with her deaf son
“Now, when we all three sit down to study the Bible, we can understand the questions our son asks us, and I feel a direct connection with my son,” Sari said.
8-year-old Richard Cardona signing his thoughts on the release of the complete Bible in ASL.
“I am so happy…because Jehovah God has given me the Bible in ASL, which is sign language, to help me understand,” signed Richard Cardona Jr.
STATEMENT FROM LOCAL ORGANIZATION
Many in the Deaf community expressed disappointment regarding the receiving accurate and timely information in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some say they felt like an afterthought with messaging that could affect their lives — at the very least, their mental health.
With pandemic anxiety a growing concern, rapid delivery of healthcare information could reduce the risk of contracting or transmitting a life-threatening disease. For the Deaf community, the added challenge of sometimes not having a sign language interpreter or being unable to read lips due to mandated mask-wearing for public safety increased that threat.
With a focus on providing advocates for the Deaf community, the Nevada Commission for Persons Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing or Speech Impaired was created in 2020 within the Office of the Governor in Nevada. Its mission is to ensure Nevadans have equal and timely access to resources, services, and opportunities in the community.
According to the state website, the goal of the Deaf Commission is to provide timely access to information, effective communication, education, and services that promote choice and independence for Nevada residents who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities, and the families and professionals who support them.
When asked how the huge undertaking of translating the entire Bible into ASL could benefit the Deaf community, Maureen Fradianni, a member of the commission said, “That’s beautiful…it is great. It has an empowering affect to have that access to communication. I can say that…even though our beliefs are different, I applaud what they [Jehovah’s Witnesses] have done.”
Amid the pandemic, Fradianni commented on the importance of digital resources in helping the Deaf community be included in public conversation, even though in-person Sign Language interpreters are preferred by many.
“That’s wonderful,” she said, regarding the translation of the ASL Bible for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Before her retirement, Fradianni worked for eight years with an agency called the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Advocacy Resource Center. That agency later became The Deaf Center of Nevada. The agency has since closed and stopped providing services. She says its closure in December 2020 took a toll on the Deaf community because the services they were accustomed to were no longer provided.
According to Fradianni, the Aging and Disability Services Division is temporarily taking over these services until July 1.
“I find that we are using these digital resources even more now, and I would assume that after the pandemic, we’re going to be using them even more than we did before,” she added, as she expressed hopes for the return of in-person events due to the eye strain and fatigue resulting from the extended use of virtual events during the pandemic.
With the recent update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on mask-wearing guidelines for those fully vaccinated, hope seems to be on the horizon.
Fradianni also shared information on a grant opportunity available for programs and services for the Deaf community through the Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) website. This grant includes services for parents of deaf and hard of hearing children. The deadline to apply is June 12.
The commission held a meeting on May 13, where members discussed what more can be done for the Deaf community.
FUTURE TRANSLATION WORK
While other organizations have worked to complete the ASL Bible, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures has continued their work and have already translated the Bible into an additional 100 sign languages, making it available to deaf and hard of hearing communities around the world.
The translation, publishing and printing work of Jehovah’s Witnesses is supported by voluntary donations.
“The ASL Bible Project set a pattern for other sign languages,” explains Nicholas Ahladis, who helps coordinate translation services at the world headquarters facility in Warwick, New York.
Jehovah’s Witnesses say they will not stop translating the Bible until everyone can read the Bible in “the language of their heart.”
ASL DIGITAL RESOURCES
To learn more about the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in American Sign Language (ASL) please visit this website.
Screenshot from ASL Bible languages available in whole or in part on JW.ORG
ASL videos on the topic of coping with anxiety during the pandemic:
To view the ASL Bible, visit jw.org, click on the language icon at the top center of the website page, check the “Display Only Sign Languages” icon and select the desired sign language translation.
Screenshot from ASL online Bible on JW.ORG
Screenshot from ASL Bible web page on JW.ORG
When viewing the ASL Bible, you can also enable “show text” to display captions as you watch the online bible.
8 News Now extends a special thanks to Peter Roman of American Sign Language Communication for providing ASL translation for this article’s interview with the Deaf Commission.
IN A 1977 short story called “The Railroad Storytellers — A Dream,” Turkish author Oğuz Atay depicted the lives of three writers of short stories under the semi-employ of a provincial railroad station. Narrated by one of the writers, the story follows the three of them as they spend their days writing stories on an old typewriter and their nights competing with food vendors to peddle these compositions to passengers when the train stops. As time goes on, however, the Railroad Ministry’s ongoing restrictions on what they’re allowed to write, combined with a reduction in passenger trains at the station, leaves the writers in increasingly desperate circumstances. One of them dies, another leaves on a departing train, and the last — our narrator — is left at the abandoned station, cooped up in his dingy quarters, writing stories that will never be read. By the end, we learn that “The Railroad Storytellers” is itself one of the last stories the protagonist will ever write; it is a story he wants to send to someone — anyone — so that he has an audience: “I want to write to them, to always write for them, to tell stories without end, to let them know where I am.” The story ends with a direct address to the reader: “I am here, dear reader. Where might you be?”
When I first read Atay’s story, it struck me as an apt metaphor for the state of world literature today: writers toiling under less-than-ideal conditions and hoping to peddle their stories to disinterested travelers passing through, inevitably being compelled to write not what they want to write, but what they think the travelers might want to read. At the time, I was hard at work on my translation of Sema Kaygusuz’s novel Every Fire You Tend, which was turned down by press after press until it was finally picked up by the UK publisher Tilted Axis Press and released in 2019. The challenge I faced with the book, despite all its qualities — and it had many, enough that I stayed the course despite the mounting rejections — was that it did not play into the predominant scripts that the World Literary Market has set for Turkish writing: there was no “East meets West,” no “tradition meets modernity” to be found here. And yet Kaygusuz’s voice was critical enough, unique enough, compelling enough to find a loyal cadre of readers upon publication and even long after. Turkish literature is hardly a small realm; there are many writers from Istanbul, Ankara, Diyarbekir, and beyond who, like her, refuse the terms and confines of World Literature. How are works like these supposed to find their readers in translation when the infrastructures for circulating literature — publishers — are constantly streamlining themselves to minimize risk and maximize sales?
“Railroad Storytellers” has been on my mind again recently. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I’ve sent more than 30 pitches to editors at no fewer than a dozen presses. Translation, unlike my other writing projects, felt like an anchor in the unmoored seas of pandemic dread, and after the publication of Every Fire You Tend, to positive reviews, I believed I had solidly gotten my foot in the door. And yet, while I received a handful of rejections, my pitches have gone by and large unanswered. Even as Every FireYou Tend went on to win the 2020 TA First Translation Prize from the Society of Authors in February, my pitches and follow-up emails are still met with silence from editors.
I was drawn to translation nearly a decade ago by the idea that literature from other parts of the world might help to dispel myths and dismantle structures that sustain imperial power and the neocolonial world order. If only we could understand the richness and plenitude of other human experiences — so the idea goes — we might be more suspicious of the hegemonic discourses that goad us into exclusionary nationalism and xenophobia. Especially as a translator of Middle Eastern languages, I have tried to be extremely conscious of my own complicity in Orientalism, Islamophobia, and American imperialism, and I have chosen to try and translate works that destabilize these discourses in the contemporary United States.
I care a lot about translation, and I care a lot about the books I translate, but I’ve begun to wonder, after more than a year of trying — and failing — to find publishers for my projects: When does it make sense to stop sending your work into The Void of publishing? When is it time to hang up your hat, to move on, to admit that the Sisyphean task of advocating for these books is just that — Sisyphean? Why should I continue translating books that, based on the response (or lack thereof), seem unpublishable in English, especially when I’m not getting paid for this work? For me, translation has always been a labor of love, but it is labor nonetheless. Because not only do translators have to produce book-quality samples and craft reader’s reports that fastidiously align the work with a publisher’s catalog; we are also often called to be “agents of last resort,” as translator Anton Hur describes it, by authors who might not speak English nor understand the peculiar gantlet of Anglophone publishing.
Complicating matters is the fact that many publishers refuse to receive non-agented submissions, thereby eliminating works by writers who might not be able to afford international representation, who might not yet have “broken out” of their local literature, who might be persecuted for their work, or who might for any number of other equally valid reasons simply not have (or want) an agent. And, in the rare case that a writer does have an agent who can ably represent them to Anglophone publishers, should they write in lesser translated languages or languages from the Global South, they may still be regarded as too big of a risk to publish. In various conversations with translators, agents, and colleagues, publishers articulate that they have informal quotas for writers beyond Europe (e.g., “We already have a Turkish author”) — what Haitian anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot might characterize as a kind of “Savage slot” for national literatures, as if one or two writers from a particular literature might comprehensively represent the richness of that literature. Publishers often chalk up these quotas to lack of demand or lack of interest, as if demand itself isn’t a tautological red herring: there is no demand for literature in certain languages, so such books don’t get published, and because these books don’t get published, there is no demand for others like them. Add to this the overreliance on state-run funding agencies — with particular political agendas and branding interests — to subsidize translations from national languages, and it becomes all too clear that, as Ho Sok Fong writes, “we cannot demand that the language of minor literature be judged against the aesthetics of major literature” (translated by Natascha Bruce). The process of publishing winnows out an inordinate number of writers whose works deserve global readership, allowing the very narrowest of exceptions to maintain the false image of World Literature as a planetary utopia of multicultural harmony.
It would be easy to blame editors here (I did so in a recent Twitter thread that went mildly viral in the translationverse), or to simply admit to myself that this is just how the game is played. But in fact, as editors have made clear to me, they’re burnt out as well, themselves grappling not only with many hundreds of pitches that all deserve careful consideration but also with the vicissitudes of life during a pandemic. Everybody means well, but that’s just the problem, isn’t it? Because no matter how well intentioned everyone might be, no matter how much editors and translators may sermonize on the importance of introducing new and urgent (always urgent, for some reason, despite the glacial process of going from English-language rights being pitched to the finished thing landing on bookstore shelves) voices to English readers, the game is rigged, the deck is stacked, and the status quo of World Literature is fundamentally predicated on the inequality of languages and literatures. This system, priding itself on building bridges across cultures, on dismantling borders, on achieving almost utopian cross-cultural dialogues, is in fact much more akin to the railroads in Atay’s story: seeking the shortest distance from periphery to center, the fastest way to carry goods and people to cities, taking shortcuts to avoid unnecessary stops at stations in the provincial margins, and letting those stations lapse into obscurity. If there are storytellers in those margins, well, may they find another trade, may they move on, may they relocate elsewhere, narrate from elsewhere, that their stories might join the other goods on offer to the urbane elites.
Is a different World Literature possible, or must we live in a World Literature plagued by what Emily Apter terms “planetary dysphoria”? Can authors and their translators, under conditions of increasing precarity, wage insurgency against the exclusionary illusion of World Literature? There are a growing number of translators and editors across the Anglophone world who have seen behind the curtain of World Literature, of its supposedly inherent auspices of bridging divides in the world, and who want instead to interrogate and undermine Anglophone notions of what the world is and who has a right to speak in it. We work on books that make different and new worlds because, in the words of translator and writer Jeremy Tiang, “the world is not enough.” We squeeze our translating hours between our other jobs, working in our cramped homes at strange hours, hoping that one of our books might land in the right place at the right time, might even one day be read. We are here, dear publishers. Where might you be?
¤
Nicholas Glastonbury is a translator of Turkish and Kurdish literature. His translation of Sema Kaygusuz’s Every Fire You Tend won the 2020 TA First Translation Prize from the Society of Authors.
SUNE Translate's founders have incorporated the nonprofit and plan to operate it well into college and beyond.
Editor’s note: This sponsored article was produced through a paid collaboration with SUNE Translate.
Sophomores atGwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and TechnologyinLawrenceville,Ga., have channeled their affinity for languages into a translation company thatofferstranslation services – including websites — free of charge for local businesses and nonprofits.
Immigrants themselves,Nela VintrlikovaandSuann Kimunderstand the challenges faced by non-nativeEnglishspeakers. So, they organized a team of bilingual and multilingual students to offer translation services for individuals, businesses and nonprofits that are struggling with language barriers but do not have budgets for translation.
The nonprofit they formed,SUNE Translate, currently offers translations of documents, websites and other written materials in 12 languages:Czech,French,German,Hindi,Japanese,Korean,Mandarin,Portuguese,Romanian,Spanish,TamilandVietnamese.
But the co-founders say they aim to expand their breadth of language offerings by contracting other like-minded students. Many high schools in Georgia require students to fulfill a certain number of community service hours, and working as a pro bono translator for SUNE helps them earn those hours, the young women explained.
“We realized there are a lot of native bilingual and multilingual students in our area, and they only use their language skills at home. SUNE enables us to expand the use of our languages while helping others,” said Ms. Vintrlikova, who speaks Czech, English and German. Her mother, Monika Vintrlikova, serves as thehonorary consul of the Czech Republicin Georgia.
Ms. Kim added that student translators gain the opportunity to learn more about the business world and other cultures. “It’s positive for students and clients alike.”
SUNE has primarily assisted clients who need translations to English, but Ms. Vintrlikova said they are interested in helping local companies expand into international markets as well, by translating websites or other materials into foreign languages.
TheGwinnett County Chamber of Commercehas signed agreements with local international business chambers for the same purpose – to help companies better access international markets, locally and abroad.
“Language barriers may seem like an intimidating factor when looking to do business with one another, but these bi-lateral chambers can facilitate as liaisons and bridge builders, as well as make introductions to their cultural communities,” saidNick Masino, president and CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber.
He underscored the importance of cultural connections, including language, for facilitating business.
Having a website that is accessible to international communities can also help to open new markets – but only if done correctly, warns theU.S. Commercial Service’sInternational Trade Administration(ITA) office inAtlanta.
“Through translations, connecting the entire world is possible.”
Since English is the language of business worldwide, having an English-only website is “perfectly fine” and is better than having a poorly translated one, advised the office’s director,George Tracy.
If done well, a fully translated website could imply that the company has multilingual staff who can attend to customers in their native languages, which may not always be the case, he added.
Because website translation and continual updates are expensive, Mr. Tracy’s office recommends small- and medium-sized businesses translate only their “About Us” page, as it does not tend to change much.
The Commercial Service can perform a “website globalization review” for clients and recommend ways to make their sites more appropriate for foreign visitors. This is typically done through the help of an in-country partner, who understands the language and culture of the particular target market and can devise an effective digital strategy.
Cultural considerations in translation are also top of mind for SUNE, which is why the group isaccepting resumesfrom native-speaking student translators, with the goal of having at least two students per language group to ensure accuracy, Ms. Vintrlikova explained.
In addition to business translations, the young women at SUNE also see the need for translating COVID-19-related documents into other languages.
“We both got our vaccinations, and we realized that the forms you have to fill out at the vaccination sites are not necessarily translated, and some people were struggling,” Ms. Vintrlikova said. “This could be a real opportunity for us to help out in the future.”
Both girls’ parents are immigrant business owners, who have provided guidance in incorporating and running the nonprofit. Ms. Vintrlikova’s parents are president and vice president ofALBAForm Inc., aFlowery Branch-based supplier of specialty wire to the automotive industry that is theU.S.branch of the Czech Republic company founded by Ms. Vintrlikova’s grandfather.
Ms. Vintrlikova said she and Ms. Kim hope to continue operating SUNE throughout their high school and college careers and beyond, and they’re working on incorporating it as a 501c3 that can accept donations.
“Through translations, connecting the entire world is possible.”
Request a SUNE translatorhere.
Learn more about the Commercial Service’s website globalization program and other export assistance serviceshere.
Before Prost, Bryson, and Reyna. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Summary: Evidence of the plain and ordinary meaning of the term “intercepting” as set forth in dictionary definitions was outweighed by evidence of the meaning of the term in the prosecution history, specification, and context of the claims.
Apple requested an Inter Partes Review of a patent owned by Uniloc. Uniloc’s patent-at-issue is directed to a system and method of using Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”). The PTAB held that certain claims of Uniloc’s patent were invalid based on obviousness in view of a prior art patent. The obviousness analysis turned on the interpretation of the claim term “intercepting.” Apple argued that “intercepting” should be construed to mean “the signaling [message] is received by a network entity located between the endpoints of the call.” Uniloc argued that “intercepting” should be construed pursuant to its plain and ordinary meaning and to exclude the receipt of a signaling message by the intended recipient of that message. The PTAB agreed with Apple’s claim construction and invalidated all but one of the independent claims based on that construction.
The Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB’s decision. Uniloc cited various dictionary definitions to support its construction of “intercepting.” However, the Federal Circuit found that the prosecution history, specification, and context of the claims outweighed the dictionary definitions. The Federal Circuit stated that “just because the receiving client device is the ultimate ‘intended recipient’ does not mean that the sending client device cannot intentionally direct the message to the intercepting entity.” Additionally, the Federal Circuit relied on the fact that Uniloc amended the claims during prosecution from “receiving” to “intercepting” to overcome prior art and Uniloc argued in an office action response that the prior art “never discloses an intermediate entity intercepting any communication between two other devices.”
Translation is a key component of any multilingual public relations strategy, and the ROI of accurately translating a press release is well worth considering.
When promoting a new product or service, announcing a company milestone, or celebrating an award, there is great value in translating your release. You’re creating the opportunity to reach new audiences, both domestically and internationally. Translation enables you to communicate with important stakeholders, such as customers and investors who speak other languages, and give your company greater brand recognition in countries where English is not widely spoken.
Handling translations with care gives you a greater chance of resonating with your target audience. Think of translation as a complex art that is not as simple as taking the source language and turning out an identical document in the target language. Certain practices will yield a better translation.
Here are five considerations when translating your release:
1.Choose Who to Target
Translation starts with deciding on your intended target audience. Choosing who you target comes down to your public relations goals. For example, if you are announcing the opening of an ESL immersive language school and want to attract Taiwanese students, then you will want to translate your release into Traditional Chinese and target Taiwanese publications that cover education and international travel.
However, if your goal is to sell a product in the United States, you can easily expand your market reach by translating your release into Spanish. Pair your release with the perfect distribution that reaches your target market. In this instance, LatinoWire distributes your release in English and Spanish through print, broadcast and online media, newswires and news services in the nation’s top Hispanic markets.
2. Translate Your Press Release with Industry Experts
Press releases contain industry-specific information. By using a translator who is an expert in a specific area — whether it is tech, biosciences, or tourism — you’ll better connect with your audience. Although some companies employ in-house translators, if you are in need of translation services, Business Wire is committed to working with expert translators. Our affiliates have diverse technical translation backgrounds to ensure quality translation services and meet localization needs. Peruse our Distribution Lists to learn more about non-U.S. circuits including translations that are available.
If translators have any questions while working on your release, they will often reach out to clarify. Although no one likes back and forth, take this as a sign that you are in good hands, and that your translator is working to ensure the most accurate and high-quality translation possible.
3. Don’t Just Translate Your Press Release, Localize it!
Translation differs from localization in that translation transforms text from A to B language, whereas localization encompasses both linguistic and cultural adaptions. When targeting international publications, your content needs to adhere to local regulations and standards in order to be impactful.
When localizing a press release be sure your translator:
Adapts the press release to use unique a cultural angle (such as local holidays or customs).
Addresses local regulations and legal requirements.
Uses local standards of measurements, such as units of currency.
Adapts graphics for the local market.
Ensures that photo captions are translated.
You can streamline the translation process if:
You write a release that is clear in the source language. When writing a release that you intend to translate, it is imperative that the source language is written as clear and concise as possible. If the meaning is unclear in the source language, it is nearly impossible to render a translation that is accurate. Think of it this way, if you are writing something that could be ambiguous, unclear and/or read as clunky in English, it is twice as hard for a translator to render an equivalent in the target language. Writing an unclear source text can result in major meaning shifts. Be sure to keep it clear and concise.
You read each sentence and ask yourself, is the point clear and easy to understand, is standard syntax used, and is correct diction applied? If the answer to any of these questions is no, think about reworking your release.
You can facilitate the translation process by specifying if:
You want to translate proper nouns into the target language. Sometimes translators will be confused by proper nouns and will go ahead and translate them. This causes a problem for target language readers. For example, a reader may not understand that your press release is referencing a company name and instead read the name as a concept. It’s always best to highlight which proper nouns are to be left as-is. In cases where proper nouns are not to be translated, provide a list of terms you do not want translated. This will help translators identify what words should stay in English. If you do want a proper noun translated, note if the proper noun already has a standardized translation and provide a glossary. Not only will this insure your proper nouns stay consistent, but it will also help avoid revisions, thereby saving you both time and cost, and ensure that you reach your target time of disclosure. Remember, translators are working under tight turnaround times, so any help you can provide will help yield better results.
You want to localize your brand name. In most cases, companies will not need to adapt their company name. This is especially important for languages that do not use the Roman alphabet, like Mandarin, Arabic, and Japanese. The Mandarin language, for example, is character based, and each character has its own meaning. Every brand name is interpreted by the meaning of the characters as well as the phonetic sound resembling the English company name. Some characters can have the same pronunciation but a drastically different meaning, and characters that have a positive meaning can become negative when combined. This means an elegant name can become impossible to pronounce and even offensive when pronounced in the native language. Therefore, it is important for companies that decide to translate their company name to take extra care when deciding on a name. Poor translations can be harmful to your brand; it is best to leave your company name in English until you have a suitable translation.
4.Time Your Distribution Strategically
Now that you’ve done everything possible to ensure your translation will go off with out a hitch, remember timing is everything! Be sure to launch your translated release in local time. Requesting your news be distributed in local market times ensures the highest possible views. Think of it this way: what impact will your news have if it’s sent when reporters, customers and important stockholders are sleeping? Instead opt to have your release distributed during reporters’ workdays.
Be mindful of holidays. Check in with the Newsroom to make sure our translators are available to meet your deadlines. Holidays vary from country to country. For example, during Chinese New Year our vendors will typically have a weeklong holiday, and thus your translation maybe delayed. Plan accordingly by asking the Newsroom to check time zones and regional holidays to ensure your release crosses the wire at the right time.
5. Always Look to Improve
Use any feedback to improve future translations. Remember clear communication is key to building a relationship with your target readers. If the translation is clunky, use specific feedback to iron out any quirks. Often, translators will keep this feedback on file for the next release they translate for your company.
Taking the time and effort to make your news available to local markets in their target languages shows your commitment to connecting with your audience and making sure your news is understood. Business Wire is dedicated to helping you connect.
For advice or support on the best distribution options for your news, contact us today at info@businesswire.com.
Read more
8 Tips for Maximizing Your International Press Release
From Chinese to English: 7 Interlingual Communication Tips for Writing a Press Release
Hola and Hello: When Translation Isn’t Enough to Reach the U.S. Hispanic Market
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