Overview
SANDISK, a global leader in data storage technology, sought to improve the efficiency and consistency of its international patent translation and filing processes.
Operating across multiple jurisdictions, the company was managing a high volume of filings that required coordination between internal teams and foreign associates. While the model supported substantive legal work, it also created growing administrative overhead, budget pressure, and questions about how to scale efficiently without introducing risk.
Rather than reducing filings or disrupting trusted legal relationships, SANDISK set out to determine whether a different model could improve quality control, reduce operational burden, and lower costs.
What followed was a structured evaluation that ultimately reshaped both translation and filing workflows.
Initial operating challenges
When David Dutcher, Vice President and Chief IP & Licensing Counsel at SANDISK, assumed responsibility for the patent department, translation quality was already viewed as a material concern.
“We believed that the risk of translation error was high, and such an error could lead to the invalidation or devaluation of a patent.”
David Dutcher
SANDISK
Vice President and Chief IP & Licensing Counsel
Translations were initially managed through foreign associates. Following a corporate merger, SANDISK tested an alternative vendor in pursuit of cost savings, but the results introduced additional operational friction and did not deliver the expected value.
That experience created skepticism about changing the model again.
Skepticism led to structured evaluation
When new budget pressures emerged, SANDISK faced a choice: reduce foreign filings or find efficiencies elsewhere.
The company chose to reevaluate the process, but this time with a more disciplined approach.
“I didn’t want to reduce foreign filing. So I decided I would try again to use a translation vendor—but I wanted to make sure I didn’t repeat the mistakes we had made previously.”
David Dutcher
SANDISK
Vice President and Chief IP & Licensing Counsel
Rather than relying on vendor claims, SANDISK designed a comparative pilot across multiple jurisdictions and languages, testing Questel translations alongside foreign associates.
To ensure objectivity, the company engaged a neutral third party to assess translation quality.
That decision became pivotal.
Independent validation changed the decision
The findings showed Questel met the required quality standards while offering a more cost-efficient model.
“Questel’s translations were high quality and Questel was less expensive than our foreign associates.”
David Dutcher
SANDISK
Vice President and Chief IP & Licensing Counsel
Equally important, the model reduced administrative burden.
“Questel invoices us directly and provides the translations directly to the foreign associates, so it doesn’t create any administrative burden on our team.”
David Dutcher
SANDISK
Vice President and Chief IP & Licensing Counsel
SANDISK transitioned translation work to Questel and has maintained the relationship for years, noting continued pricing stability over time.
“Questel hasn’t changed their rates even though we’ve used them for many years.”
David Dutcher
SANDISK
Vice President and Chief IP & Licensing Counsel
Transforming the filing process
The transformation did not stop with translation. SANDISK also revisited its foreign filing workflow, which had required extensive email coordination between internal paralegals and foreign associates.
“We were sending over 2,000 emails per year just as part of this filing process.”
David Dutcher
SANDISK
Vice President and Chief IP & Licensing Counsel
Working with Questel, SANDISK moved to a centralized instruction model, separating administrative filing execution from substantive legal prosecution, while preserving relationships with preferred foreign counsel.
The operational change was significant.
“We now give one instruction to Questel instead of 2,000 emails to our foreign associates.”
David Dutcher
SANDISK
Vice President and Chief IP & Licensing Counsel
What had been fragmented coordination became a more scalable operating model.
Preserving legal continuity while improving efficiency
A critical requirement throughout the transition was maintaining continuity with trusted foreign law firms.
That continuity remained intact. SANDISK continued using its preferred foreign associates for substantive legal work, while Questel supported translation and administrative filing execution.
This proved the model did not require sacrificing legal relationships to improve operational efficiency.
Operational outcomes
Following implementation, SANDISK reported measurable improvements, including:
- Reduced translation and filing costs
- Centralized filing instructions replacing manual coordination
- Significant reduction in internal administrative workload
- Improved consistency across jurisdictions
- Preservation of existing foreign associate relationships
- Greater availability of internal resources for higher-value work
“We’re now having our paralegals do higher value work rather than the administrative tasks of sending emails and managing these very administrative processes.”
David Dutcher
SANDISK
Vice President and Chief IP & Licensing Counsel
A model other IP teams can evaluate
One of the strongest takeaways from SANDISK’s experience is that the approach itself is replicable.
The decision was not based on assumptions, but on structured evaluation, independent quality validation, and phased operational adoption.
And notably, David Dutcher explicitly recommends that approach to others.
“One thing I’d recommend is when you assess the quality of translations, you use an objective third party.”
David Dutcher
SANDISK
Vice President and Chief IP & Licensing Counsel
For IP teams balancing quality risk, cost pressure, and operational complexity, SANDISK’s experience demonstrates that these objectives do not have to be traded against one another.
With the right evaluation process, they can be addressed together.
About SANDISK
SANDISK is a global leader in data storage technology, developing solutions that enable digital storage across consumer and enterprise markets.
About Questel
Questel is a leading provider of intellectual property and innovation management solutions, supporting organizations across the full IP lifecycle, including searching, analytics, filing, translation, renewals, and recordals.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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