logo image
  • News
    • People Moves
    • Deal Wins
    • Demand Drivers
    • M&A and Funding
    • Financial Results
    • Technology
    • Academia
    • Industry News
    • Features
    • Machine Translation
    • — Divider —
    • Slator Pro
    • — Divider —
    • Press Releases
    • Sponsored Content
  • Data & Research
    • Research Reports & Pro Guides
    • Language Industry Investor Map
    • Real-Time Charts of Listed LSPs
    • Language Service Provider Index
  • Podcasts & Videos
  • Events
    • SlatorCon Remote May 2021
    • Email Marketing for Freelance Linguists
    • Preparing for the Critical Google Update Coming in May 2021
    • — Divider —
    • SlatorCon Coverage
    • Other Events
  • Directory
  • RFP Center
  • Jobs
MENU
  • News
    • People Moves
    • Deal Wins
    • Demand Drivers
    • M&A and Funding
    • Financial Results
    • Technology
    • Academia
    • Industry News
    • Features
    • Machine Translation
    • — Divider —
    • Slator Pro
    • — Divider —
    • Press Releases
    • Sponsored Content
  • Data & Research
    • Research Reports & Pro Guides
    • Language Industry Investor Map
    • Real-Time Charts of Listed LSPs
    • Language Service Provider Index
  • Podcasts & Videos
  • Events
    • SlatorCon Remote May 2021
    • Email Marketing for Freelance Linguists
    • Preparing for the Critical Google Update Coming in May 2021
    • — Divider —
    • SlatorCon Coverage
    • Other Events
  • Directory
  • RFP Center
  • Jobs

Register For Email Marketing for Freelance Linguists and Learn How To Win New Clients.

  • Slator Market Intelligence
  • Slator Advertising Services
  • Slator Advisory
  • Login
Search
Generic filters
Exact matches only
Advertisement
Korea’s Internet Giant Naver Admits Translation Tech Rip-off

5 years ago

July 14, 2016

Korea’s Internet Giant Naver Admits Translation Tech Rip-off

Technology ·

by Hazel Mae Pan

On July 14, 2016

5 years ago
Technology ·

by Hazel Mae Pan

On July 14, 2016

Korea’s Internet Giant Naver Admits Translation Tech Rip-off

The CEO of Korea’s largest Internet company Naver, Kim Sang-hun, was forced to issue a very public apology on July 8, 2016, after translation crowdsourcing platform Flitto accused the company of ripping off its technology.

“We have decided to stop our translation services as of this month after receiving complaints that they appear to be a rip-off of Flitto,” Kim told the Korean Herald.

The day prior, Simon Lee, CEO of Gangnam-based Flitto, accused Naver of copying his company’s “user interface and service process.” Slator reached out to Flitto’s CEO for comment, and he reiterated his complaint that “the service Naver has launched had nearly identical UI (user interface) flow and function of the Flitto app.”

Advertisement

“The service Naver has launched had nearly identical UI flow and function of the Flitto app”—Simon Lee, CEO Flitto

As stated by Lee, a Flitto user who uses Naver’s service for the first time will understand the platform right away because “the process of requesting image or voice translation and memo feature, where the requestor can leave a message before sending the request, was almost equivalent.”

Data Pays

Flitto’s platform provides clients with two options: crowdsourced translation and a “professional translation” service. For the crowdsourcing model, any user fluent in more than one language can join Flitto as a translator and start processing translation requests from other users.

“For crowdsourcing translation requests, translators can freely make translations, and the best translation will get selected to receive points, which can be used to purchase items or exchanged for real money from the Flitto Store,” Lee explained.

Experienced translators, on the other hand, “can register as 1:1 Pro Translators and proceed with the request, one-on-one, to receive the full translation fee,” he added.

Flitto also makes much of its revenue by selling translation data corpora. In a 2015 Tech in Asia article, Lee said Flitto is “making around USD 100,000 a month,” and 90% of Flitto’s revenue comes from selling Corpus, or their translation data sets, to drive machine translation engines. Lee did not comment when asked to provide updated financials.

Included in Flitto’s list of MT partners at the time were Google Translate and Naver. Flitto’s website also currently lists other business partners including Microsoft, Airbnb, and Naver subsidiary Line Dictionary.

Partners Still?

Naver’s interest in Flitto’s technology has not exactly come out of nowhere, the two companies being partners.

Lee disclosed, “During the first meeting with the Naver partner team in 2014, they were very interested in our business model, especially where translators actively participate for the compensation or reward system.”

He added, “They were also interested in how the process was made, not only for the text but image and voice requests as well.”

“They actually buy our translation data sets to make their machine translation more accurate,” Lee was quoted as saying in the Tech in Asia article. He did tell Slator, however, that “Flitto sells Corpus to Naver,” and that “Flitto has been selling Corpus for almost three years.”

“Naver actually buys our translation data”—Simon Lee, CEO Flitto

Asked how he thinks this issue will affect their partnership with Naver, Lee replied, “Not sure for now. We wish Naver does not mix business with pleasure. I’m sure that Naver is not happy for a small startup bringing up this kind of issue―but still, business is business.”

Unheard Of

Asked if Naver’s public apology means the Internet giant has admitted ripping off Flitto’s technology, Lee replied, “We’ve heard the news through their official blog as well. And the CEO apologized admitting that their service was similar to Flitto.”

However, according to Lee, Naver has yet to communicate with Flitto directly. “Unfortunately, we didn’t receive any call from Naver,” Lee said.

Slator reached out to Naver’s CEO for comment, but has not received a reply as of press time.

Update: Naver told Slator on July 18, 2016, that the service was taken down because it did not adhere to company policy regarding partnerships. However, Naver denies Flitto’s allegations of “plagiarism.”

 

SHARE
Hazel Mae Pan

By Hazel Mae Pan

Research Editor at Slator. Wide reader, online course consumer, computer science and transhumanism enthusiast, among other things. Bikes to work, so not a total couch potato.

Advertisement

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SLATOR WEEKLY

Language Industry Intelligence
In Your Inbox. Every Friday

SUBSCRIBE

SlatorSweepSlatorPro
ResearchRFP CENTER

PUBLISH

PRESS RELEASEDIRECTORY LISTING
JOB ADEVENT LISTING

Bespoke advisory including speaking, briefings and M&A

SLATOR ADVISORY
Advertisement

Featured Reports

See all
Slator 2020 Language Industry M&A and Funding Report

Slator 2020 Language Industry M&A and Funding Report

by Slator

Slator 2021 Data-for-AI Market Report

Slator 2021 Data-for-AI Market Report

by Slator

Slator 2020 Medtech Translation and Localization Report

Slator 2020 Medtech Translation and Localization Report

by Slator

Pro Guide: Sales and Marketing for Language Service Providers

Pro Guide: Sales and Marketing for Language Service Providers

by Slator

Press Releases

See all
BLEND Raises $10m to Fuel Global Growth with End-to-end Localization Services

BLEND Raises $10m to Fuel Global Growth with End-to-end Localization Services

by BLEND

Iconic Launches INTRA Translation Platform

Iconic Launches INTRA Translation Platform

by Iconic

Pangeanic Is Now Certified to ISO 27001 Information Security

Pangeanic Is Now Certified to ISO 27001 Information Security

by Pangeanic

Upcoming Events

See All
  1. Smartling - Global Ready Conference 2021

    Global Ready Conference

    by Smartling

    · April 14

    When you can't traverse the world, let the world come to you. Join our annual global event from home.

    More info FREE

Featured Companies

See all
Sunyu Transphere

Sunyu Transphere

Text United

Text United

Memsource

Memsource

Wordbank

Wordbank

Protranslating

Protranslating

Seprotec

Seprotec

Versacom

Versacom

Smartling

Smartling

XTM International

XTM International

Translators without Borders

Translators without Borders

STAR Group

STAR Group

memoQ Translation Technologies

memoQ Translation Technologies

Advertisement

Popular articles

Poland Rules on LSP Using Google Translate; Defines ‘Professional Translator’

Poland Rules on LSP Using Google Translate; Defines ‘Professional Translator’

by Marion Marking

The Slator 2021 Language Service Provider Index

The Slator 2021 Language Service Provider Index

by Slator

Behind the Scenes of the European Parliament’s Pivot to Remote Interpreting

Behind the Scenes of the European Parliament’s Pivot to Remote Interpreting

by Seyma Albarino

SlatorPod: The Weekly Language Industry Podcast

connect with us

footer logo

Slator makes business sense of the language services and technology market.

Our Company

  • Support
  • About us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Subscribe to the Slator Weekly

Language Industry Intelligence
In Your Inbox. Every Friday

© 2021 Slator. All rights reserved.

Sign up to the Slator Weekly

Join over 13,500 subscribers and get the latest language industry intelligence every Friday

Your information will never be shared with third parties. No Spam.