Poll: Do you think applications like Google Translate or DeepL steal your intellectual property? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you think applications like Google Translate or DeepL steal your intellectual property?".
This poll was originally submitted by Thomas Lof. View the poll results »
| | | | | Not my intellectual property, but my job | Sep 29, 2023 |
My intellectual property is what I produced myself through my translating activity. It is my translations.
Machine translations do not steal that, but our jobs, although the quality they provide for most language combinations is still way insufficient and contains severe errors and nonsense.
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If they are stealing is from the client, not the translator. AFAIK the release of copyrights or other intellectual property rights for translations is issued after payment in full of all outstanding balances of the invoice amount due to the translator.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 14:55
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
I suppose the question is if those applications use our edited translations ? At least the paid version of DeepL explicitely states that it doesn't use or store your translations, which is kind of important if you want to use their services without fearing for data protection regulation breaches.
Using the free versions of those applications I still wouldn't say that they steal your (or your clients') intellectual property. It would be more like that you are willingly letting them s... See more I suppose the question is if those applications use our edited translations ? At least the paid version of DeepL explicitely states that it doesn't use or store your translations, which is kind of important if you want to use their services without fearing for data protection regulation breaches.
Using the free versions of those applications I still wouldn't say that they steal your (or your clients') intellectual property. It would be more like that you are willingly letting them steal it.  ▲ Collapse
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| I use a free tool that runs locally on my PC | Sep 29, 2023 |
Before, I used Google Translate through my CAT tools, and I'd be surprised to find out that it was somehow able to store the results of my edits in its database and learn on them (how would that be possible? would it only store my final edits or the intermediate ones too?). One thing that surprises me is that some translators really go to online translation services, copy and paste their materials to the source text boxes, and pass the MT outputs off as their own translations (and get paid for t... See more Before, I used Google Translate through my CAT tools, and I'd be surprised to find out that it was somehow able to store the results of my edits in its database and learn on them (how would that be possible? would it only store my final edits or the intermediate ones too?). One thing that surprises me is that some translators really go to online translation services, copy and paste their materials to the source text boxes, and pass the MT outputs off as their own translations (and get paid for them). No, seriously, translators shouldn't be doing this. And even in that case, with translators being so naive as to take MT at face value without verification, those online tools won't get any human input to learn from. Will anyone want to edit a machine translation in the target box of an online tool and then press "Enter" or whatever to save the results? Too hard to believe... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Zea_Mays 
Italy
Local time: 14:55
English to German
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| I don't understand the question | Sep 29, 2023 |
Please explain.
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 08:55
Spanish to English
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| Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:55
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Call me the Keyboard Luddite | Sep 29, 2023 |
Denis Fesik wrote:
Before, I used Google Translate through my CAT tools, and I'd be surprised to find out that it was somehow able to store the results of my edits in its database and learn on them (how would that be possible? would it only store my final edits or the intermediate ones too?). One thing that surprises me is that some translators really go to online translation services, copy and paste their materials to the source text boxes, and pass the MT outputs off as their own translations (and get paid for them). No, seriously, translators shouldn't be doing this. And even in that case, with translators being so naive as to take MT at face value without verification, those online tools won't get any human input to learn from. Will anyone want to edit a machine translation in the target box of an online tool and then press "Enter" or whatever to save the results? Too hard to believe...
One of my favourite amusements is to input deliberately wrong translations into Deepl. Childish, I know, but I get a sense of satisfaction from putting "un bastone tra le ruote" (a spanner in the works). More people should do this.
[Edited at 2023-09-29 14:22 GMT]
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Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 14:55
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
At least as far as Google is concerned. It is a well-known fact that this company, including their artificial translation program, couldn't care less about its users' privacy. I, for one, avoid anything Google related, and not only because there are other great programs available, including search engines.
| | | | Susanne Helker
Germany
Local time: 14:55
Member (2012)
English to German
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| wrong translations | Sep 29, 2023 |
Tom in London wrote:
One of my favourite amusements is to input deliberately wrong translations into Deepl. Childish, I know, but I get a sense of satisfaction from putting "un bastone tra le ruote" (a spanner in the works). More people should do this.
[Edited at 2023-09-29 14:22 GMT]
Oh, I am not alone;-)
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1. First of all, the word "steal" implies a motivation or a volition that these software applications do not possess.
2. The only "intellectual property" I own is my own writing, mostly from years ago, which was produced without any assistance from translation tools.
3. As Teresa has already pointed out, we don't normally own the copyright on our own translations anyway, once the client has paid the fee.
4. In any case, for me the use of machine translation... See more 1. First of all, the word "steal" implies a motivation or a volition that these software applications do not possess.
2. The only "intellectual property" I own is my own writing, mostly from years ago, which was produced without any assistance from translation tools.
3. As Teresa has already pointed out, we don't normally own the copyright on our own translations anyway, once the client has paid the fee.
4. In any case, for me the use of machine translation is only a preliminary step, after which I export the target text to a word processor. The final translation I deliver is normally very different from the edited MT output. ▲ Collapse
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If one calls a property intellectual one, he/she should treat it using their highest intellect, not a basic kitchen calculator. Keep in mind that by fencing out from the outer world, we separate ourselves from the main stream of cosmic vitamins ))
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Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 14:55
English to German
+ ...
| Still waiting for an explanation | Sep 30, 2023 |
Zea_Mays wrote:
I don't understand the question
Please explain.
If there is a thief, it will be the firms behind those tools.
| | | | Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
It's not really stealing my intellectual property per se, since I'm not the original author of the source material. Most jurisdictions would probably not consider translations as the IP of the translators. Yes, I know creative translations may be eligible for such luxury. But even then, it seems fairly difficult to contest the ownership of the translated products in many cases. Not to mention the contracts that make you forego your copyright once you submitted the work to the client or agency.... See more It's not really stealing my intellectual property per se, since I'm not the original author of the source material. Most jurisdictions would probably not consider translations as the IP of the translators. Yes, I know creative translations may be eligible for such luxury. But even then, it seems fairly difficult to contest the ownership of the translated products in many cases. Not to mention the contracts that make you forego your copyright once you submitted the work to the client or agency.
But the firms behind these tools are still mining your handiwork nonetheless. Regardless of what the MT and LLM providers claim, for as long as you don't have direct access to their infrastructure, there's no way to verify whether they abide by their own ToS and policies. Always assume they log everything and keep your data forever, and would repurpose them however they wish. It's a different story if you self-host your MT and LLM servers on your hardware. At least you have control over them.
[Edited at 2023-10-02 10:22 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | finnword1
United States
Local time: 08:55
English to Finnish
+ ...
| I believe they do | Oct 2, 2023 |
Especially Google (world's no. 1 espionage company). I change the names of people, companies and their products, addresses, etc., before I import the source document into my CAT tool, making sure that I don't forget to change them back in the finalized translation.
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