Terms & Conditions

Qualified to translate

Terms

Conditions

General Terms of Business for Commissioned Translation Work

Beaufort Marshall Email: lynn@beaufort-marshall.com

General Terms of Business

for commissioned Translation Work

In this document: No part of any numbered

clause shall be read separately from any other

part. Section headings are provided for

convenience of reading only and shall be

ignored for the purposes of ascertaining

meaning.

Definitions

1. Translator shall mean the party providing a

translation in the normal course of business.

The translator shall normally be the creator of a

translation unless the Client has been explicitly

informed that the act of translation (the

translation task) will be subcontracted, or the

translator customarily trades as an

intermediary.

Translation task shall mean the preparation of a

translation or any other translation-related task

such as revising, editing, etc., which calls upon

the translation skills of a translator, but not

copywriting or adaptation.

Client shall mean the party commissioning a

translation in the normal course of business.

The parties may be natural or legal persons,

including, as an example only, private

individuals, associations, partnerships,

economic interest groupings or corporate

entities.

A translator may act as an intermediary. A

relationship involving an intermediary of any

nature acting in the normal course of business

shall comprise two (or more) direct and discrete

translator/Client contracts.

Source material shall be understood to mean

any text or medium containing a communication

which has to be translated, and may comprise

text, sound or images.

Translation Rights

2. The translator accepts an order from the

Client on the understanding that performance of

the translation task will not infringe any third

party rights.

The Client undertakes to keep the translator

harmless from any claim for infringement of

rights in all cases.

The Client likewise undertakes to keep the

translator harmless from any legal action

including defamation which may arise as a

result of the content of the original source

material or its translation.

Fees: (binding) Quotations and

(non-binding) Estimates

3. In the absence of any specific agreement,

the fee to be charged shall be determined by

the translator on the basis of the Client’s

description of the source material, the purpose

of the translation and any instructions given by

the Client.

No fixed quotation shall be given by the

translator until he/she has seen or heard all the

source material and has received firm

instructions from the Client.

Where VAT is chargeable it will be charged in

addition to the quoted fee if the translator is

VAT registered.

Any fee quoted, estimated or agreed by the

translator on the basis of the Client’s

description of the task may be subject to

amendment by agreement between the parties

if, in the translator’s opinion on having seen or

heard the source material, that description is

materially inadequate or inaccurate.

Any fee agreed for a translation which is found to present latent special difficulties of which

neither party could be reasonably aware at the

time of offer and acceptance shall be renegotiated, always provided that the

circumstances are made known to the other

party as soon as reasonably practical after they

become apparent.

An estimate shall not be considered

contractually binding, but given for guidance or

information only.

4. Subject to the second paragraph of clause 3

above, a binding quotation once given after the

translator has seen or heard all the source

material shall remain valid for a period of thirty

days from the date on which it was given, after

which time it may be subject to revision.

5. Costs of delivery of the translation shall

normally be borne by the translator.

Where delivery requested by the Client involves

expenditure greater than the cost normally

incurred for delivery, the additional cost shall be

chargeable to the Client. If the additional cost is

incurred as a result of action or inaction by the

translator, it shall not be borne by the Client,

unless otherwise agreed.

6. Other supplementary charges, for example

those arising from:

discontinuous text, complicated layout or

other forms of layout or presentation

requiring additional time or resources, and/or

poorly legible copy or poorly audible sound

media, and/or

terminological research, and/or

certification, and/or

priority work or work outside normal office

hours in order to meet the Client’s deadline

or other requirements, may also be charged.

The nature of such charges shall be agreed in

advance.

7. If any changes are made in the text or the

Client’s requirements at any time while the task

is in progress, the translator’s fee, any

applicable supplementary charges and the

terms of delivery shall be adjusted in respect of

the additional work.

Delivery

8. Any delivery date or dates agreed between

the translator and the Client shall become

binding only after the translator has seen or

heard all of the source material to be translated

and has received complete instructions from the

Client.

The date of delivery shall not be of the essence

unless specifically agreed in writing.

Unless otherwise agreed, the translator shall

dispatch the translation in such a way that the

Client can reasonably expect to receive it not

later than the normal close of business at the

Client’s premises on the date of delivery.

Payment

9. Payment in full to the translator shall be

effected not later than 30 days from the date of

invoice by the method of payment specified.

For long assignments or texts, the translator

may request an initial payment and periodic

partial payments on terms to be agreed.

10. Settlement of any invoice, part-invoice or

other payment shall be made by the due date

agreed between the parties or in the absence of

such agreement within the period stipulated in

Clause 9.

Interest shall automatically be applied at the

rate of 8 % per annum over base rate (or such

rate as is determined by statute, the latter

prevailing) to all overdue sums from the date on

which they first become due until they are paid

in full.

Where delivery is in installments and notice has

been given that an interim payment is overdue,

the translator shall have the right to stop work

on the task in hand until the outstanding

payment is made or other terms agreed.

This action shall be without prejudice to any

sums due and without any liability whatsoever

to the Client or any third party.

11. In the absence of a specific written

agreement to the contrary, copyright in the

translation remains the property of the

translator.

The translator may use and sell or resell any

non-confidential translation or any part or

record thereof not covered by copyright, the

Official Secrets Act, legal professional privilege

or public interest immunity.

Where copyright is assigned or licensed

(formally in writing as required by § 90 of the

Fortuna House, South Fifth Street

Milton Keynes MK9 2EU, UK

Tel 01908 325250 Fax 01908 325259

Email info@iti.org.uk

Web www.iti.org.uk

E-mail:

lynn@beaufort-marshall.com

E-mail:

lynn@beaufort-marshall.com

Tel: +44 (0)1202 89 63 63

Lynn Urch BA(Hons), MA, PGCE, MCIL

A freelance translator and foreign language teacher trading as Beaufort Marshall (.com)

Website last updated: 14-Aug-09