General Terms and Conditions for Translators

1. Area of application

(1) These General Terms and Conditions shall apply to the contracts between translator and customer(s), insofar as no other conditions have been explicitly agreed or are mandatory by law.

(2) The Customer’s General Terms and Conditions shall only be binding for the translator, if she has explicitly accepted them.

2. Customer’s obligation to cooperate and to provide necessary information

(1) The customer must inform the translator in due time about special forms in which the translation is to be delivered (on a data carrier, number of copies, layout, etc.). The purpose for which the translation is to be used must be indicated. In the event that the translation is to be printed, the customer must provide the translator with a proof sheet.

(2) The customer must provide the translator with all information and documents necessary for the translation unsolicited upon placement of the contract (customer’s glossaries, illustrations, drawings, tables, abbreviations, etc.).

(3) The translator shall not be liable for any mistakes that result from non-compliance with the abovementioned conditions.

3. Completion and removal of defects

(1) The translation shall be carried out in accordance with the principles of proper professional practise. Technical terms will be translated into a generally usual, lexically acceptable and/or generally understandable form, if no documents or special instructions are provided by the customer.

(2) Any and all defects due to an original text which is difficult to read, defective or incomplete or due to a customer’s terminology being defective or wrong, shall not be deemed to be the responsibility of the translator.

(3) If the customer complains about a material defect that actually exists, the customer shall have the right to have said defect remedied by the translator. The customer shall immediately ascertain their claim vis-à-vis the translator in writing, indicating the specific defect(s). The translator must be given an appropriate period of time to remedy the defect(s).

(4) The right to subsequent improvement shall be excluded if the translator does not receive the notification of defect within 2 weeks following delivery of the translation.

(5) In the event of failure to rectify defects or provide a replacement delivery, the statutory warranty rights shall become effective again, unless otherwise agreed.

(6) Any and all delivery dates are bindingly agreed upon order placement. The translator shall not be deemed to be in default, as long as the service is not rendered due to circumstances for which the translator is not responsible. If the delivery date is not adhered to because of any case of Force Majeure, the translator may withdraw from the contract or demand an appropriate extension of time from the customer. Any further claims, in particular, claims for damage, shall be excluded in these cases. If the object of the order changes, delivery times and remuneration must be newly agreed upon.

4. Liability

The Translator shall be liable for gross negligence and intent to a reasonable extent. Liability in the case of slight negligence shall only arise in the event of a breach of material contractual obligations.

5. Secrecy

The translator shall be obliged to maintain secrecy concerning any and all facts and documents which become known to them while translating the text.

6. Remuneration

(1) The scope of the translation is calculated on the basis of the number of standard lines contained in the target text; a standard line has 55 characters (incl. spaces). Any lines which have less than 30 characters or more than 55 are broken down to standard lines.

(2) The remuneration is due and payable with 14 days following delivery of the completed translation.

(3) In addition to the agreed remuneration, the translator shall be entitled to the reimbursement of all actually incurred costs which have been agreed with the customer. Proofreading/correction work shall be charged on the basis of an hourly rate. For large translation projects, the translator may ask for an advance payment if this is necessary for the completion of the translation. In substantiated cases she can request full payment of the fee before handing over the translation.

(4) If no remuneration has been agreed, an appropriate and usual remuneration shall be payable. In this respect, the legally established tariff for witnesses and experts shall be considered to be appropriate and usual as the minimum amount.

7. Reservation of title and copyright

(1) The translation remains the property of the translator until it is fully paid. Up to this point in time the customer shall not have any right of use.

(2) The translator reserves the copyright to the translation.

8. Termination of contract

The customer may only terminate the contract during execution of the translation work for good cause. Termination shall only be effective if issued in writing to the translator. In this case, the translator shall be entitled to damages for any loss in earnings to the amount of the order value.

9. Applicable law

(1) German law shall apply to the order placed and all resulting claims. Place of jurisdiction is the domicile of the translator.

(2) The effectiveness of these General Terms and Conditions shall not be affected by the invalidity of individual provisions.