Patent videos · invention stories · explainers
Explore original patent videos from Translating Patents: unusual inventions reconstructed from published patent documents, alongside clear explainers on how patents are structured, read and understood.
Choose a series below to explore unusual inventions, patent documents and the ideas recorded in them.
Visual reconstruction · invention stories
Patent documents can preserve some wonderfully unexpected ideas, but their drawings and technical descriptions leave much for the reader to imagine. Patents Brought to Life explores those inventions through visual reconstruction and storytelling, examining the problems their inventors hoped to solve and how their proposed solutions were intended to work.
The series grew from the curiosity involved in working with patents: piecing together an invention from the words and drawings that describe it. These films share that process, inviting viewers to explore the ingenuity, ambition and occasional eccentricity recorded in patent documents.
Episode 01
An unusual household invention reconstructed from its original patent drawings and description.
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Episode 02
A proposed breathing apparatus explored through its published patent record and reconstructed visually.
Watch on YouTube →The visual reconstructions are informed by the published patent documents. Details not specified in those documents may involve interpretation.
Patent basics · clear explanations
Patent documents can be difficult to approach without knowing what their different parts are for or how to read them. Patents Explained offers an accessible starting point, taking one question at a time and exploring it through clear explanations, visual examples and references to original documents.
The aim is to share knowledge gained through working closely with patents and make an unfamiliar subject easier to understand. Whether you are curious about inventions, encountering a patent for the first time or looking to understand its language and structure, the series helps you approach the document with greater confidence.
Explainer 01
A clear introduction to patents, the inventions behind them and the purpose of a published patent document.
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Explainer 02
A visual guide to the main parts of a patent document, including the abstract, description, claims and drawings.
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Continue with specialist articles on patent language, translation and technical interpretation, or find out more about our German-to-English patent translation work.