Translation services are always in demand. When you get a chance to get the right translation service agreement, you know that you will be in great hands.
There are many different translation agencies in the world, both online and offline. When you choose an online translation agency, you need to know that you can trust them. You need to check their legitimacy. You need to be at ease with them. One of the best ways for you to be at least is to sign the right contract with the company.
Legal Contracts Translated
Before getting ahead of yourself and submitting the confidential documents that need translation you should first make sure that you will have all legal contracts to be translated properly and check every document before you submit them.
However, even before getting to the checking you also need to make sure that you have signed the right service agreement and that the translation services offered by the company you trusted is worthy of your trust.
The best way to check the legitimacy of a company is to check whether or not they have the right translation service agreement and whether that agreement has the right provisions. What are the things that you should expect when it comes to this very specific legal contract? Let us answer.
Translation Service Agreement: What To Expect
The service agreement that you get from a translation company is always one that they have written themselves. Like insurance contracts companies that offer translation services would often provide you with legal documents that offer not just the process of documents translated but also the terms that the client agrees on.
With that, when you are faced with a contract template on the subject matter or getting an independent contractor for your translation services needs, there is a couple of information that should be included in the agreement. Let us look at what you should get from a professional translation service.
Definition of Parties
The translation service writeup is a contract that includes the definition of the parties. It should cover the definition of the parties. It should define the company either as an independent contractor or a translation company. It should also define the client as well as the third parties that may be involved in the definition.
Definition of the Translation Services
The agreement should also cover the definition of the translation services. This shows and defines the expectation that the parties should have of one another. In some agreement the description of the services can be in the following forms:
- The Translator will provide the agreed service(s) as detailed in the order quote. Final delivery will mirror the received deliverables.
- The Translation company will provide the services and the document translated in the quote or invoice provided to the client. The client will be responsible for the payment of the reasonable costs.
- The Client and the Translation company agree to provide the services based on the quotation that has been submitted.
The definition of the translation service would vary depending on the service that you get from the translation company. It is important that you check this part because it defines the specific experience that you want to have.
Definition of Fees
The definition of fees is important. The Client must agree to pay the translator’s fees. The document translated is what the client wants and the payment of fees is what the translation company would surely not want to miss.
The fees are often defined to include how much is the cost of the few hours of translation, how much the finished product is, and sometimes, it even includes how much the free quote is and what it covers.
The Client agrees that they would pay the translation service and the company agrees to pay the Translator’s fees for the service that they agreed to give.
The common clauses that include the definition of fees are the following:
- Client agrees to pay the Translator’s fee for the services agreed upon First-time clients shall pay in full before the translation is started. For repetitive clients, special payment plans may be arranged.
- The Client agrees that the full payment of the consideration shall refer to the company as soon as the contract has started.
- The Client agrees to put the amount of the payment in escrow.
Provision on the Cancellation of Contract
There will also be a provision on the cancellation of contract or the withdrawal by the client from the contract.
In case of dispute and when the need arises for the dispute, the costs that are related to managing and scheduling the translators must be part of the non-refundable clause of the contract. This is especially important especially when we are talking about moving schedules and doing what we can to accommodate a client and then the client decides to pull out.
The translation services that the individual would get should always cover much more than what the client wants. It also aims to cover the protection that the company deserves. The contract template would often include this clause for the protection of the parties involved and not just for one of the parties.
This is a very specific part of the contract and must be addressed properly by the parties if they want to make sure that they will have the best time.
Additional Fees
In some instances, additional fees must be paid by the parties. Additional fees will be payable to the translation company in case the client requires to get an additional contract or service, other than the accurate translation.
The additional fees that the client would pay include the payment for the following:
- additional services that are required because of the changes of the client;
- additional services to be translated after the order form or the quotation has already been given and signed;
- additional changes that are requested by the client; and
- any additional client requests for the delivery in a format different than the one that is agreed upon by the parties.
Many of the contract templates that you would see would include this clause for additional services that the client would request for. This part is where most of the conflicts come in so it is important that you always do your best to make sure that you understand this specific clause on your contract.
Client’s Review of Translation
When it comes to your service agreement, it is important that your contract template would have a review of translation. The review of the translation is important to check the contact information and every other aspect of the laws of the state.
One party needs to make sure that they check the information. The translated work should be able to match the contract and its specific requirements. Translating the document is the more important fact and it must have an accurate translation through the materials provided. You will get a quick turnaround time when you have the right review of the translation period.
Most of the terms included in the contract include the following:
- “Upon receipt of the translation from Translator, Client shall review it within 30 days after receipt and, if necessary, notify Translator of any requested corrections. Translator shall correct, at no cost to Client, any errors made by Translator.”
- “The Client has a right to review the translation for a period of 30 days.”
- “The Client has a right to review the work for a period following the receipt and submission of the work within a period of 30 to 90 days.”
Confidentiality Clause
It is also important to have that part that discusses the confidentiality and the non-disclosure agreement that includes the confidential information. The translated work is not the only thing that requires proper coverage of the confidentiality clause.
Legal advice from lawyers would tell you that the best thing to prevent legal action is to protect confidential information as much as possible. Confidential information that is obtained through translation services must be protected properly by the parties involved. It is necessary for the parties to make sure that they will get the confidentiality clause properly set for the business.
The translators that you need to get would need to know the legalities of the specific agreement. How can they get the translations? What is the best way to protect the translations? The document work is not the only thing that is important but the confidentiality of the contract and the documents as well.
Language Use
The language used for the specific contract must also be considered as a part of the contract. It is important that the parties would know the language used specifically for the writing and it must be in accordance with what you specifically need.
It is important that the parties know the specific language that would be used for the translation. For very obvious reasons the contract must provide the language that will be translated into another language as well as two periods that the output is expected to come out.
Property and Copyright
The ownership of the translations always pertains directly to the contracts and the business of the client. In translation contracts it is important that the company and the clients know about the limitation of their rights as to the translated work. Most of the contracts that we have seen provided that the translated work would only pertain to the client who is the owner of that work and we agree with that a hundred percent.
The translator holds and retains the copyright of the translation only until the full payment of the services has already been given by the client. Once the client has fully paid everything and has made sure that the document is approved and that the correct language has been translated. The company will no longer have any right for the specific document and may only claim that they translated the document, but not its ownership.
Disagreements and Problems
There should also be a clause that covers the disagreements and the problems that the parties may have with the translated document. It is important that the parties would cover the disagreements and the problems on the contract because it would cover the claims and the damages as well as the expenses and the liabilities that the parties would have to incur in case there is a breach of the contract and this would include the reasonable attorneys fees that has to be paid in case there is a legal action.
In some contracts even unemployment insurance is covered by the translation agreement because there is a need to support every other purpose in accordance with the form of the contract.
Changes In The Contract
Any changes in the contract as well as any changes in the original product specifications and the work scope must be provided as a subject matter hereof. The contract needs to properly cover any other changes that must be complied with by the parties because of the fact that it needs to work based on the needs of the client but also based on the protection that is needed by the company for the work that they perform.
Governing Law
Finally there is a need for the parties to determine the governing law that would cover the work performed as well as the liability that may happen in case there is a breach in the written agreement and this must also be provided in writing. It is important that the agreements should cover the payments and the specific meaning for the illegal terms as well as the compensation that is required of the parties in case there is a breach of the contract.
For clients who are getting a specific translation contract with a company it is important to read this part because it would affect the relationship between the parties as well as the relationship in case the parties do not agree with the results of the contract and the results of the relationship.
Provision On Compensation After Breach
The payment of the attorneys fees as well as the payment of the compensation after breach must be specifically defined on the contract or on the agreement with the translation company. Whoever is required by the parties to pay or make payment or provide compensation after the beach must be clearly provided in the contract before anything else.
This is a way for the parties to enforce payment after court hearings and court dates. It is very important to make sure that you check this out before signing the dotted line.
Translation Services: How To Determine If You Found The Right Company
There are many different companies that offer translation services all year round. In order to know if you have found the right company there are a couple things that you should look out for. Let us look at them:
The Service Agreement must be explained in detail.
The service agreement that you would get must always be explained in detail. If you have questions about the service agreement and you want your translation company to explain it to you you have every right to do so because it is still you who has control over the agreement.
You should not shy away from asking questions and make sure that you always provide the right information even just in the part where you ask for a free quote. Keep in mind that the confidential information and the confidential relationship already exists at the time that you are asking for a free quote.
The Service Agreement must not be one-sided.
The service agreement that you get must not be one-sided. Even if it is only written by one of the parties which is a translation company your translators must be able to show that they are also protecting your rights when they enter into a business agreement with you.
If you think that the translation company is only protecting itself when it offers you the service agreement for you to sign then it may be time for you to check another offer coming from another service. When the liability of the company is limited and it seems that the expenses only refer to the client at all times it is a sign that you might need to check out other companies that offer the same service.
Your translators are bound by their ethics to make sure that you are protected, especially the documents that you would entrust to them.
You should be free to contact the company in case of a problem with the service agreement.
You should be free to contact the company in case you need support or you have any problem with the output that has been given to you. A good customer service is a sign that the translation company knows what it is doing in that it is not only after the payments but also should project professionalism.
A good company must be easy to contact in case you have a need for them.
They must have a good reputation.
The company that you get must have a good reputation. Having a good reputation means that the people trust them and that they have been professional in terms of their dealings with their previous clients. For this part you can check out yelp reviews and see to it that you have done the right thing.
The agreement must be in your language.
There are some translation companies that fail to take into account the fact that they would have foreign clients and because of that we feel they have their agreement in the language that the client would understand. If you want to be sure about the caliber that your translation company has to offer you should know that it will always be better to have a translation company that translates for their clients whether they are just potential clients or they are already signed ones.
You should feel at ease with them.
The most important thing that you should feel with the specific company that you hire would be the feeling of ease. You should feel at ease with the company and you should feel that you are in the right hands.
Choose The Right Service For You
When you get translation services from a company, you need to make sure that you are getting the best of what they have to offer. Make sure that you review the legal policies and what they have to offer you. You should always look at the reviews. These are just some of the things that we have shared with you in the article above.
Making a reasonable effort to match the experience and the requirements set by law for the translator is important. The client decides whether to take the contract but ultimately, it is the contract that would decide whether or not to take the contract and accept what the individual has to offer.