Article 1 - General

These General Terms and Conditions shall govern the legal relationship between the Translation Company and the Client and shall supersede any other terms and conditions of the Client, unless the Translation Company approves the applicability of such terms and conditions in writing.

Article 2 – Quotations and contracts

2.1 General quotations and estimates provided by the Translation Company shall not entail any commitment.

2.2 The Translation Company may at any time revoke or change prices and dates of delivery quoted if it has not had the opportunity - prior to quoting such details - to view the entire text to be translated or edited. The Client’s written acceptance of the quotation submitted to the Translation Company or, if no quotation is submitted, confirmation by the Translation Company in writing of an order placed by the Client shall constitute a contract.

2.3 The Translation Company may consider as a Client any person or entity that has placed an order with the Translation Company, unless said person or entity explicitly states that they are acting on behalf and at the expense of a third party, whose name and address shall be disclosed to the Translation Company at the same time.

2.4 Agreements made and assurances given by representatives or personnel of the Translation Company shall not be binding upon the Translation Company unless explicitly confirmed by the Translation Company in writing.

2.5 Any reasonable doubt on the part of the Translation Company about the Client’s ability to pay shall entitle the Translation Company to require the Client to provide sufficient security before the Translation Company commences or continues to execute an order.

Article 3 - Changes to or cancellation of orders

3.1 Any major changes made by the Client to an order after a contract has been concluded shall entitle the Translation Company either to modify the price and/or the date of delivery agreed or to refuse to execute the order. In the latter case, the Client shall be required to pay for the work already performed, and the provisions stipulated in clause 3.3 shall apply by analogy.

3.2 Cancellation of an order by the Client shall require the Client to pay in full for the work already performed with respect to that order and, where appropriate, to pay compensation on the basis of an hourly rate for time spent on research for that part of the work not performed. The Translation Company shall make the work performed available to the Client at the latter’s request.

3.3 Unless otherwise agreed, prices are listed in euros. All prices listed in our offers are net prices, excluding taxes. Special services are subject to a surcharge which will be reflected in the quotation.

Article 4 - Execution of orders and non-disclosure clause

4.1 The Translation Company undertakes to carry out orders to the best of its ability, bringing to bear sufficient professional know-how to meet the purpose specified by the Client for the text(s) to be translated or edited by the Translation Company.

4.2 The Translation Company shall keep any information provided by the Client confidential in so far as this is possible in connection with the performance of the contract. The Translation Company shall require its employees to observe this code of confidentiality. However, the Translation Company shall not be liable for any breach of confidentiality by its employees if it can sufficiently demonstrate that it was unable to prevent the same.

4.3 Unless explicitly agreed otherwise, the Translation Company shall be entitled to hire third parties to carry out the order (in full or in part), without prejudice to the Translation Company’s responsibility for the confidential treatment and proper execution of the order. The Translation Company shall require any such third party to observe this code of confidentiality. However, the Translation Company shall not be liable for any breach of confidentiality by such third parties if it can sufficiently demonstrate that it was unable to prevent the same.

4.4 As far as possible, the Client shall honour any request for information by the Translation Company about the content of the text to be translated, as well as requests for relevant documentation and lists of terms if such are available. Such information and documentation shall be dispatched at the Client’s expense and risk.

4.5 The Client is obligated to ensure that no rights of third parties to the information, documents and other items transmitted to us stand in the way of our processing, utilisation, reproduction and/or publication of the results of processing thereof.

Article 5 - Agreed date and time of delivery

5.1 The agreed date of delivery shall be provisional, unless an explicit written agreement stipulates otherwise. The Translation Company shall notify the Client immediately if it perceives that it will be unable to meet an agreed deadline.

5.2 If a fixed delivery date is specifically agreed in writing and if the Translation Company fails to meet it for reasons other than circumstances beyond its control, and if the Client cannot reasonably be expected to accept any further delay, the Client shall be entitled to cancel the contract unilaterally. In such cases, however, the Translation Company shall not be required to pay any compensation whatsoever. Such cancellation shall not affect the obligation on the part of the Client to pay for the work already performed.

5.3 Delivery shall be deemed to have taken place at the moment when the text is dispatched. The moment when the text is posted, handed to a courier or - if the text is transmitted electronically (by fax, e-mail, etc) - the moment when the medium completes the transmission shall count as the time of dispatch.

5.4 The Client shall do whatever may reasonably be necessary for or conducive to prompt delivery by the Translation Company of work performed under the contract.

5.5 The Client shall do everything in its power to facilitate delivery of the product by the Translation Company under the contract. Any refusal to accept the Translation Company’s product shall constitute default on the part of the Client, and the provisions of clause 6.5 shall apply accordingly, even if no explicit request for acceptance has been made.

Article 6 - Prices and payment

6.1 Prices shall generally be based on the Translation Company’s current rate (per hour or per word), unless agreed otherwise. In addition, the Translation Company may charge the Client for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in the execution of the order. The Translation Company shall be free to charge a minimum rate for each language pair.

6.2 Quoted prices shall apply only to services and products conforming to agreed specifications.

6.3 The Translation Company shall be entitled to raise the agreed price if it is forced to perform more work or incur more costs than might reasonably have been foreseen on conclusion of the contract as a result of having to work with laborious, time-consuming or unclear texts, for example, or faulty files or software supplied by the Client. This list of examples is not exhaustive.

6.4 All prices are quoted exclusive of VAT.

6.5 Payment for products supplied or services rendered under the contract shall be due 30 calendar days after the invoice date (or within such other terms set by the Translation Company in writing). Payment shall be net and in full - without any discount, set-off or deferral - in the currency invoiced. If payment is not made by the due date, the Client shall be in default - immediately and without notice of default being required - and shall owe the statutory interest due on the invoice amount, plus two percentage points, from the due date until settlement in full.

Article 7 - Complaints and disputes

7.1 The Client shall be required to notify the Translation Company in writing of any complaints about the product supplied or service rendered by the Translation Company as soon as possible, yet no later than ten working days after the said product is supplied or the said service is rendered. Lodging a complaint shall not release the Client from its payment obligations.

7.2 Should the Client query the accuracy of specific passages of the translation supplied by the Translation Company and ask the Translation Company for its comments, and should the Translation Company subsequently be able to demonstrate that the passages in question are not incorrect, the Translation Company shall be entitled to charge the Client in full for the additional time spent on dealing with the query and for any other expenses incurred in this connection.

7.3 If the Client does not lodge a complaint within the period specified in clause 7.1 above, the Client shall be deemed to have fully accepted the product supplied or the services rendered by the Translation Company, and complaints shall only be considered if the Translation Company at its sole discretion deems such to be expedient. Any changes made by the Translation Company, at the Client’s request, to any part of the translated or edited text shall in no way constitute an acknowledgement on the part of the Translation Company of supplying an inferior product or rendering an inferior service.

7.4 In the case of a valid complaint, the Translation Company shall be allowed a reasonable period of time to improve or substitute the product or service. If the Translation Company in all fairness is unable to make the required improvements or to substitute the product or service, it may grant the Client a discount.

7.5 The Client’s right to complain shall lapse if the Client has itself edited or has instructed others to edit the part or parts of the product forming the subject of the complaint, regardless of whether the Client has subsequently supplied the product to a third party or not.

Article 8 - Liability and indemnity

8.1 The Translation Company shall exclusively be liable to the Client for any loss or damage directly and demonstrably deriving from shortcomings attributable to the Translation Company. The Translation Company shall under no circumstances be liable for any other forms of loss or damage, such as indirect loss, consequential loss, trading loss, loss caused by delay in performance or loss of profit.

8.2 The Translation Company’s liability shall never exceed the invoice value, exclusive of VAT, of the part of the product or service in question, which part has already been invoiced and/or supplied or rendered. The Translation Company’s liability shall never exceed €45,000 per event or per sequence of related events.

8.3 Ambiguities in the text to be translated shall release the Translation Company from any liability whatsoever.

8.4 The question of whether (the use of) a text to be translated or edited or the translation or edited version of such text, produced by the Translation Company, entails any risk of bodily injury shall be entirely at the Client’s expense and risk.

8.5 No liability whatsoever shall be incurred by the Translation Company in respect of damage to or loss of documents, data or data carriers made available to facilitate performance of the contract. Nor shall any liability be incurred by the Translation Company in respect of any costs incurred and/or any loss or damage sustained as a result of (i) the use of information technology and telecommunications media, (ii) the transport or dispatch of data or data carriers, or (iii) the presence of computer viruses in any files or data carriers supplied by the Translation Company.

8.6 The Client undertakes to indemnify the Translation Company against any claims by third parties deriving from the use of the product supplied or the services rendered.

8.7 The Client similarly undertakes to indemnify the Translation Company against any claims by third parties on account of alleged violation or infringement of property rights, proprietary rights, patent rights, copyrights or any other intellectual property rights in connection with the performance of the contract.

Article 9 - Links to other resources

Although the Website and Services may link to other resources (such as websites, mobile applications, etc.), we are not, directly or indirectly, implying any approval, association, sponsorship, endorsement, or affiliation with any linked resource, unless specifically stated herein. We are not responsible for examining or evaluating, and we do not warrant the offerings of, any businesses or individuals or the content of their resources. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the actions, products, services, and content of any other third parties. You should carefully review the legal statements and other conditions of use of any resource which you access through a link on the Website. Your linking to any other off-site resources is at your own risk.

Article 10 - Dissolution and force majeure

10.1 If the Client fails to meet its obligations, if the Client is declared insolvent or bankrupt or if a petition is filed for the Client’s compulsory liquidation or bankruptcy, if the Client applies for or obtains a moratorium, if the Client is subject to an arrangement under the debt rescheduling regulations for natural persons or if the Client’s company or business is liquidated, the Translation Company shall have the right, without being required to pay any compensation, to dissolve the contract in whole or in part or to suspend performance of the contract. The Translation Company shall in that case be entitled to demand immediate payment of any outstanding amounts.

10.2 Should the Translation Company prove unable to meet its obligations due to circumstances beyond its control and risk, it shall be entitled to dissolve the contract without being liable to pay any compensation whatsoever. Such circumstances (force majeure) include, but are not limited to: fire, accidents, illness, strikes, riots, war, terrorist attacks, transport restrictions and delays, government measures, disruption of the services of Internet providers, negligence on the part of suppliers or any other circumstances beyond the Translation Company’s control.

10.3 If the Translation Company is compelled by force majeure to discontinue further performance of the contract, it shall retain the right to payment for any work performed up to that moment as well as reimbursement for any costs and out-of-pocket expenses incurred.

Article 11 - Copyright

11.1 Barring explicit agreements in writing to the contrary, the copyrights to the translations produced by the Translation Company shall transfer to the Client at such time as the Client has satisfied in full all of its financial and other obligations to the Translation Company in relation to the particular order.

11.2 So-called translation memories may be used as an aid in producing translations.
(The Translation Company guarantees that no confidential information will be reproduced when parts of the source text are stored in and re-used from the translation memory).
To the extent any rights, such as copyrights or database rights, arise from the use of the translation memory, these shall belong to the Translation Company, barring agreements to the contrary.

Article 12 - Governing law

12.1 The formation, interpretation, and performance of this Agreement and any disputes arising out of it shall be governed by the substantive and procedural laws of Germany without regard to its rules on conflicts or choice of law and, to the extent applicable, the laws of Germany. The exclusive jurisdiction and venue for actions related to the subject matter hereof shall be the courts located in Berlin, Germany and you hereby submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts. You hereby waive any right to a jury trial in any proceeding arising out of or related to this Agreement. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply to this Agreement.

Article 13 - Privacy clause

13.1 General

a. The Translation Company works in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and only collects the personal data for which it has a basis for processing.

b. Before the Client places a translation order, the Translation Company shall only process the personal data necessary to issue a quotation.

c. No later than in the quotation, the Client will be asked to identify such data of highly sensitive nature into one of the following categories:

Category 2: Average Risk
Type	The order involves personal data of a sensitive nature which qualify under the law as special personal data, with the exception of medical data, or relate to a well-known person or a person or dispute which could lead to consternation in society.
Group	limited to a small group of maximum 5 people, all on a need-to-know basis.
Security	- limited access rights - storage using anonymous designation or pseudonyms is not mandatory but can be used. - adherence to retention period - processing exclusively within the EEA and the countries with an adequacy decision

 

Category 3: Normal Risk
Type	The order involves personal data such as name, address, city/town of residence.
Group	limited to a group within the Translation Company and the actual translator.
Security	- access rights not secured internally - storage takes place normally - adherence to retention period - processing may take place worldwide within the frameworks of the GDPR

 

d. The costs of the translation order partly depend on the choices made in advance by the Client, such as

• the assignment to a category;
• the request to have the personal data stored with anonymous designation or pseudonyms;
• deviating retention periods;
• the return or destruction of personal data.

e. The Translation Company shall ensure through continuous education that its employees are acquainted with GDPR-compliant handling of personal data. The Translation Company has also included strict confidentiality requirements and fines in the contracts with the employees who work with personal data.

f. The Translation Company shall also ensure that it takes and updates the appropriate technical measures to adequately secure personal data.

g. The Translation Company shall monitor the third parties engaged by it for compliance with the GDPR and if desired use extra safeguards to ensure the security of personal data.

h. The Translation Company shall not share personal data with foreign parties unless it is required to do so by law or the Client grants permission to have a translation order executed abroad.

i. Clients can exercise their rights under the GDPR via the Data Subject’s Rights Form. The Translation Company aims to handle every request within four weeks.

13.2 Date Protection

The client hereby agrees to their data being stored in accordance with the provisions of the German Data Protection Act (Datenschutzgesetz).

13.3 Data leaks

If, despite every precaution by the Translation Company, personal data are lost or viewed by unauthorised persons (data leak), the Translation Company will notify the Client of this quickly, but in any event within the time period agreed on between the parties.

The Translation Company shall endeavour to minimise the damage resulting from the data leak and undo this damage as much as possible.

A data leak does not relieve the Client of its obligations under the contract with the Translation Company unless the Client can demonstrate or make plausible that there was gross negligence on the part of the Translation Company.

14.4 Retention periods

The Translation Company shall not store personal data longer than necessary for the execution of the translation order agreed on between the parties, unless

• the Client gives permission for a longer retention period.
• legal provisions require the Translation Company to observe a longer retention period.

Article 14 – Miscellaneous

Changes and amendments

We reserve the right to modify this Agreement or its terms related to the Website and Services at any time at our discretion. When we do, we will revise the updated date at the bottom of this page. We may also provide notice to you in other ways at our discretion, such as through the contact information you have provided.

An updated version of this Agreement will be effective immediately upon the posting of the revised Agreement unless otherwise specified. Your continued use of the Website and Services after the effective date of the revised Agreement (or such other act specified at that time) will constitute your consent to those changes.

Acceptance of these terms

You acknowledge that you have read this Agreement and agree to all its terms and conditions. By accessing and using the Website and Services you agree to be bound by this Agreement. If you do not agree to abide by the terms of this Agreement, you are not authorised to access or use the Website and Services.

Contacting us

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints regarding this Agreement, we encourage you to contact us using the details below:

https://www.schneiders-sprach-service.de/contact

support@schneiders-sprach-service.de

This document was last updated on September 5, 2022