In Douglas Adams’ “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” universal translation was achieved through the use of “babel fish” inserted into your ear. Star Trek achieved the same goal through the use of a small device — the aptly named universal translator. The Council of Europe hopes to achieve an identical result with a Google program for translating patents called Patent Translate. The viability of a proposed Unitary Patent, offering affordable protection for U.S. inventions in …