Language services provider thebigword has successfully patented the technologies that connect its expert linguists to commercially sensitive work.
The company now holds intellectual property rights in both Europe and the United States for the proprietary processes underpinning its Highly Secure Translation Editor.
The landmark awards are considered to be extremely valuable in a business environment where information security is a growing concern.
Mark Clayton, Chief Technology Officer at thebigword, said: “With the General Data Protection Regulation coming into effect in spring 2018 and the reality of significant fines for data breaches, these awards give confidence to our clients that we are passionate about protecting them and their valuable information.
“As well as strengthening our ability to tender successfully, these patents create a new barrier to entry into our specialist market whilst providing the potential to generate significant new licensing revenues in the future.”
The company is believed to be the only language services provider in the world with patents in place for security and encryption tools.
Larry Gould, founder and Executive Chairman of thebigword, said: “Since releasing the latest version of our Highly Secure Translation Editor, we have won every rebid and every tender in the financial sector, where customer trust is paramount.
“How many laptops end up being sold on eBay or taken to household dumps with confidential or sensitive information on their hard drives?
“We see the introduction of GDPR as a big opportunity for thebigword and our market-leading technology, a position reinforced by the award of these patents.”
The system sits between thebigword and expert linguists and secures data from end to end.
Unlike other tools in the market, the translation editor securely stores and then securely deletes information once the translation is complete.
As patent holder, thebigword has the right to exclude other language services providers from making, using, offering for sale or selling the inventions in the United States and Europe.
How it works, in nine simple and secure steps:
1. Client transfers files to thebigword Translation Management System
2. thebigword reviews content and selects suitable linguist
3. Linguist logs into Translation Management System to accept the job
4. Linguist verifies secure details to open the Highly Secure Translation Editor
5. Files transferred to linguists are via an encrypted connection
6. Each file has a unique encryption key
7. The linguist complete the job
8. Secure deletion process removes all trace from the linguists computer
9. Files transferred to the client via an encrypted connection
This product offers linguists the ability to perform translation and audio transcription tasks as well as annotation of scanned documents in a secure environment.
It is provided free to charge to thebigword’s network of 14,000 linguists.
