Machine Translation and the Challenge of Patents

In this chapter, machine translation (MT) is first introduced in the context of patent information, and we touch upon what role it can play at various points in the intellectual property (IP) life cycle. We then step back to take a high-level look at what exactly defines MT, how it works, what makes it such a difficult task, as well as some of the more recent advances to overcome these hurdles and how we can go about ensuring that MT systems we develop are actually fit for purpose.