翻訳コラム

特許請求の範囲では「〜を備え」ということばが頻繁に使われます。これはcompriseと通常訳されますが、compriseにはどんな意味があるのでしょうか。
英英辞典 "Dictionary.com" (Dictionary.com, LLC.) には、"to include or contain", “to consist of; be composed of"という意味が掲載されています(http://www.dictionary.com/browse/comprise)。つまり「有する」(have)を意味するというよりは、ある物の構成要素を述べるときに使われることがわかります。
“ABC Company consists of (comprises) 80 employees".
“This PC includes (comprises) two screens".
しかし、日本語のクレームでは、たとえば
「〜装置は、〜プレートを備え、
前記プレートは、テーパ状の両端を備え」
と書くことがあります。
この2つの「備え」は同じ言葉ですが、前者はconsists ofと訳すこともでき、後者はhaveが適切です。つまり前者の「備え」は、装置がいくつかの決まりきった構成要件から「構成されている」ことを意味し、後者の「備え」は、プレートの無数の特徴(たとえば、木目状の基板、可撓性の基板、テーパ状の両端)の一つを「有している」ことを意味しています。
もちろん「プレートはテーパ状の両端を備え」を"the plate comprises tapered ends"と訳しても間違いではありません。そのように訳す翻訳者も多いでしょう。しかし、前者の「備え」(プレートを備え)との違いを出すためには、後者の「備え」の訳は「have」が適切と思われます。つまり日本語の明細書でも「テーパ状の両端を有し」と記載されていればよいのです。

In patent claims, the word “sonae" (in Japanese) is used frequently, which is ordinarily translated as “comprise". But what does the word “comprise" actually mean?
In the English Dictionary, “Dictionary.com" (Dictionary.com, LLC.), it means “to include or contain", “to consist of; be composed of" and these are used as the definition of the word “comprise" (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/comprise). I can understand that “comprise" is used to state the composition of an object rather than stating the meaning “to have". Think of the following examples below:
“ABC Company consists of (comprises) 80 employees".
“This PC includes (comprises) two screens".
However, Japanese claims may recite,
“… device comprises (“sonae" in Japanese) … a plate:
“the plate comprises ("sonae" in Japanese) tapered ends".
These two words “sonae" are apparently the same but the former can be translated as “to consist of" while the latter can be translated as “to have" reasonably. Namely, the former means that a device consists of several definite elements while the latter means the plate has one of many characteristics (wood pattern base, flexible base, tapered ends etc.)
Of course, the translation “the plate comprises tapered ends" is not wrong, which may be many translators' translation. However, the latter “sonae" should be translated as “to have" in order to be distinguished from the former “sonae" (“… comprises a plate"). If the Japanese specification says “the plate has (“yuushi" in Japanese) tapered ends", then such a problem will not occur.