General Terms and Conditions

1. Application

Unless otherwise expressly agreed or mandatorily required by law, these terms of business apply to all contracts between Baker & Harrison Fachübersetzungen (hereinafter called the Contractor) and the Client.
Terms and conditions applied by the Client will be binding on the Contractor only if expressly acknowledged by the latter in writing.

2. Client’s obligation to assist and inform

The Client must inform the Contractor in good time of any special requirements for the execution of the translation (translation to be provided on data media, number of copies, ready-to-print, external form, etc.). The intended use of the translation must be specified. If the translation is intended for printing, the Client must furnish the Contractor with a proof copy.
Information and documents required for the preparation of the translation must be made available by the Client in good time and without further request (Client’s glossaries, illustrations, drawings, tables, lists of abbreviations, etc.).
The Contractor will not accept responsibility for errors resulting from a failure to comply with these obligations.

3. Execution of orders and rectification of defects

Translations are executed in accordance with good professional practice. The Client will receive the translation in the contractually agreed form. Insofar as no reference material or special instructions are included by the Client, specialist terms will be translated as generally used or understood.
Insofar as the Contractor considers it expedient to do so, the Contractor may have the translation executed by third parties.
The Contractor reserves the right to eliminate defects and carry out rectifications.
The Client is entitled to rectification of possible defects that may be contained in the translation. Claims for rectification must be made by the Client forthwith in writing specifying in detail the defect to be eliminated. The Client must afford the Contractor a reasonable period of time within which to carry out rectification. Should the Client not desire rectification, on whatever grounds, this shall not entitle the Client to reduce the fee payable or refuse payment.
The Contractor shall not be responsible for translation defects attributable to poorly legible, defective or incomplete documentation or the Client’s own defective or inaccurate terminology.
Should rectification or replacement prove unsuccessful, insofar as no other agreement is reached, the Client’s statutory warranty rights will take effect.
The Contractor shall not be liable for loss of profit or other financial losses incurred by the Client. In the event that it is agreed between Client and Contractor to arrange liability insurance to cover financial losses, the liability of the Contractor will be limited to the sum insured. In other respects the terms of the Contractor’s financial loss liability insurance shall apply.
Delivery times and dates must be agreed at the time the order is placed and are binding. Should a delivery date not be met due to circumstances for which the translator is not responsible or instances of force majeure, the Contractor shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract or request the Client to grant a reasonable extension of the deadline. In such cases any more extensive rights, in particular rights to compensation, are excluded. Should the subject of the order change, delivery deadlines and fees must be renegotiated.

4. Liability

The Contractor shall be liable in the event of gross negligence or willful intent. Liability for minor negligence is excluded unless covered by financial loss liability insurance upon which the contracting parties have reached agreement.
Should the work be carried out by third parties, the Contractor shall be liable solely for the care with which said third parties are selected.
The Contractor must ensure adequate data security. If the Client desires that data intended for electronic transmission should be encrypted, this must be expressly brought to the attention of the Contractor. Any costs entailed in encryption or similar data security measures must be borne by the Client.

5. Professional secrecy

The Contractor undertakes not to disclose any facts of which the Contractor may become aware in the course of activities for the Client, and to treat documents made available by the Client in association with the order as confidential.

6. Remuneration

The extent of the translation will be calculated on the basis of the number of standard lines contained in the finished translation. A standard line is comprised of 52 characters inc. spaces. If the translated text is not comprised of Latin characters, the number of lines will be calculated on the basis of the source text.
Payment is due within 10 days of invoice date without deduction. The minimum order value is 50.00 euro.
In addition to the agreed fee, the Contractor shall be entitled to reimbursement of costs as incurred and agreed with the Client. Statutory VAT will be charged in addition. In the case of extensive translations, the Contractor may request payment in advance of such amount as the Contractor deems necessary to execute the translation. In justified cases the Contractor may insist on payment of the fee in full or a substantial part thereof before handing over the work.
Should the amount of the fee not have been agreed, reasonable and typical remuneration will be due dependent on the nature and difficulty of the work. As a minimum the rates specified in the Reimbursement of Witnesses and Experts Act (Gesetz über die Entschädigung von Zeugen und Sachverständigen - ZSEG) will be deemed reasonable and typical. In addition the parties may agree upon remuneration on a time basis at an hourly rate to be determined.

7. Title and copyright

The translation remains the property of the Contractor until payment is received in full. Until that time the Client has no right of use.
Copyright is retained by the Contractor.

8. Applicable law

Orders and all claims emanating there from are subject to German law. Insofar as the law permits, the place of jurisdiction shall be Munich.
Should any of these terms individually be invalid or ineffective, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining terms and conditions. Alterations or amendments to these General Terms and Conditions shall not be applicable unless expressly agreed in writing. This likewise applies to this clause requiring the written form.