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German to English translations [PRO] Tech/Engineering - Patents
German term or phrase:handwerkliche Handeln
Sentence: "Die abhängige Ansprüche xxxx betreffen Merkmale, die im Rahmen rein handwerklichen Handelns liegen."
This is from a Written Opinion relating to a patent for a refrigerator. The term looks as though it ought to have a standard translation in English as a "patentese" term but I've searched the various regulations and can't find it. Can anyone help?
Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I had to put this job on hold for a couple of days. The subsequent paragraph states (using normal patent terminology) that the application does not fulfil the PCT requirements as it is not novel and does not involve inventive step. I'm inclined to go with "workmanship" here since it sums up the meaning quite well, and in any case it would appear that the German term is also quite unusual in this context.
"abhängigen"? If so, what is abhängig of what or whom? Kim Metzger's link suggests something like craftsmanship. On the face of it, the suggestion would be workmanlike conduct?
Could we see the text before and after this anyway? It seems a bit odd to make a statement like this and move on to something else without elaborating on it. For example, doesn't it explain what the Merkmale are?
Explanation: Even though "handwerkliches Handeln" is not the normal term used for it, this could mean here "the features ... are within the knowledge of a person skilled in the art", ie are not novel. The context should clarify whether this is a possibility.
Patrick White Local time: 03:22 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English
Notes to answerer
Asker: I did give this serious consideration since the claims are indeed not novel and do not involve inventive step. The only reason I didn't go with it is because the German seems slightly unusual.
Explanation: The idea is that these are mechanical or routine features within the normal competence of the person skilled in the art, i.e. he could carry them out without having to think about them and so they are not inventive or do not involve an inventive step.
One possible way of phrasing the sentence might be:
The dependent claims relate to features that consist of purely mechanical measures.
Or even perhaps:
The dependent claims relate to features that are purely a matter of routine.
Although the standard patent dictionaries do not list "handwerkliches Handeln", both Uexküll/Reich and Klaften/Wittmann/Klos offer
"handwerkliches Können" - mechanical skill
Klaften/Wittmann/Klos also offers:
inventions of such a kind arise usually from mechanical routine – derartige Erfindungen (f) pflegen sich aus der mechanischen Tagesarbeit zu ergeben, sind nur “handwerksmäßige Maßnahmen” (f, pl)
Unfortunately, I can't find any nice parallel texts in support, but here are a few EPO references.
The additional features of claims 1 and 2 of the first auxiliary request are purely mechanical measures a person skilled in the art performs on the basis of his ordinary skill and with the help of the disclosure of document E2. Thus, also the subject-matter of claims 1 and 2 of the first auxiliary request lacks an inventive step. http://www.epo.org/law-practice/case-law-appeals/recent/t010...
What particular difficulties do courts and patent examiners face in assessing inventive step?
Thus it might well be obvious, as the result of a purely mechanical act, to obtain ESTs, where their use is only as a probe (there being no unexpected technical effect in hybridising to the opposite strand of DNA). https://www.aippi.org/download/commitees/150/GR150united_kin...
Alison MacG United Kingdom Local time: 03:22 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 12
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks for this detailed answer, Alison - I've plumped for the "workmanship" option but can see that your suggestion has plenty of merits and I would probably use it in a different context. I have to say that the use of "handwerklich" does seem to be quite problematic here.
Reference information: Here's an extract from a subscriber only site. I think the last is "Produktes"
www.springerlink.com/index/qp337w713657rn08.pdf
by K Gramelt - 2010
„Handwerkliches Handeln konzentriert sich auf die machende, gestaltende Ver- änderung der äußeren Natur mit dem Ziele der Herstellung eines nützlichen Pro- ...
Kim Metzger Mexico Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 27
The translation workplace 
