Terms & Conditions

A Scope of the General Terms and Conditions

Without explicit written consent to the Terms and Conditions of another party, by signature of a legal representative of translate.IT GmbH (hereinafter Semioticom) as per the “Legal” section on this website, any services provided shall exclusively be governed by these Terms and Conditions. When Semioticom refrains from enforcing their Terms and Conditions in cases where they concflict with a third parties Terms and Conditions, it does not constitue implicit acceptance of parts or the entirety of this third parties Terms and Conditions.

B Conclusion of Contract

Semioticom does not recognize verbal agreements as a means of concluding or amending a contract. Any contract with a value of more than 5000€ (or the equivalent in other currencies) may only be concluded by a representative of Semioticom as per the “Legal” section on this website. Any written exchange of communications, that leads to the exchange of files or granting of access to files in a cluod environement, constitutes as a Service contract, that shall be governed by these Terms and Conditions, only if Semioticom agreed to accepting this task or project by means of written confirmation or implicit confirmation by means of performing work on these files in the cloud environment. Merely grantig access to files in a cloud environment or sending files to an employee of Semioticom, without explicitly requesting Semioticoms service, wil not be considered a service request. Therfore no service contract can be concluded from such actions, unless agreed otherwise in a mutually signed Service Level Agreement.

C Scope of Service

The scope of the services provided by Semioticom is subject to each individual offer and it’s appendices. If not otherwise defined during the communications leading up to the creation of a service contract, the quality expectations defined in Section D and the service definitions defined in Section E shall apply.

D Quality

Semioticom commits to both factual and cultural accuracy in the materials that are the product of our services. Whenever the client does not provide Digital Linguistic Resources such as style-guides, glossaries, term bases, translation memories or dictionaries, the standard rules of grammar and spelling of the target language shall apply. Whenever the client provides such materials, they superceede any target language conventions. Semioticom is not responsible for errors contained in Digital Linguistic Resources, unless Semioticom has agreed to create, review or cocreate these resources.

E Service Definitions

E-1 Translation

Translation (only) or Human Translation typically and hereinafter abbreviated with T, Tr, Tra or HT is the act of transfering information from one language into another. Purchasing this Service at Semioticom unless agreed upon differently in written form, means that you are buying a service performed by a single human with the scope of transfering information from one source language into another target language. Computer Assisted Translation Software may be used, except for Machine Translation Software.

E-2 Machine Translation Post Editing

Machine Translation Post Editing or Post Editing Machine Translation typically and hereinafter abbreviated with PEMT or MTPE is a two step service, wherein a logic or statistics based Machine Translation System produces a suggested translation, which then in a second step is verified and if needed corrected by a human. Purchasing this Service at Semioticom unless agreed upon differently in written form, means that you are buying a service performed by a machine and a single human with the scope of transfering information from one source language into another target language. Additional Computer Assisted Translation Software may be used. As per DIN ISO 18587:2017 there are two different types of MTPE; Light and Full. Unless agreed upon differently in written form, Semioticom by default will provide light PEMT in line with the expectations outlined in DIN ISO 18587:2017.

E-3 Review

Review or Revision typically and hereinafter abbreviated as Rev is the act wherein a linguist looks at a Text, a Translation or the product of Machine Translation Post Editing a second time with the scope of identifying and rectifying any issues that are in contradiction to the Quality standards outlined in Section D.

E-4 Edit

Edit typically and hereinafter abbreviated as Ed is the act wherein a linguist looks at a Text, a Translation or the product of Machine Translation Post Editing another linguist created with the scope of identifying and rectifying any issues that are in contradiction to the Quality standards outlined in Section D.

E-5 Proof

Proof, Linguistic Sign Off or In Context Review typically and hereinafter abreviated as P, ICR or LSO is the act of looking at a text in the context within which it will be published. The scope is to identify any remaining linguistic issues in particular issues that without the context of publishing could not have been identified during the creation of the target text. This includes but is not limited to formatting issues. Unless agreed otherwise, Semioticom will emlploy (one of) the linguists that performed (on of) the previous workflow step(s).

F Client Obligations

The client acknowledges and agrees that effective communication and collaboration are essential for the successful completion of translation projects. Unless defined otherwise in an individual SLA, signed by both parties, Semioticom expects a response time of no more than 3 business hours local time. The client is responsible for providing clear, accurate, and comprehensive instructions, including but not limited to target audience specifications, context, reference materials, and project requirements. Failure to communicate relevant information, such as changes in scope, unrealistic deadlines, or feedback on draft translations, may result in delays, errors, or dissatisfaction with the final deliverables. The client further understands and accepts that Semioticom cannot be held liable for issues arising from miscommunication, ambiguous instructions, or inadequate collaboration, as outlined in the provided examples of potential project failures. By engaging our services, the client agrees to actively participate in the translation process and to promptly address any queries or concerns raised by the translation team to ensure the successful and timely completion of the project.

H Industry Standards

While Semioticom acknowledges the existence of Industry standards, we expect our client’s to communicate clearly and not to assume we will adhere to any standards by default.

I Intellectual Property and Rights

If not otherwise stipulated, Semioticom provides the customer with the right to duplicate and distribute translations upon complete payment. However, Semioticom retains the right (unless agreed otherwise) to be credited as the language service provider, including its web address, in all duplicates and publications of the language services. Further (unless agreed otherwise) Semioticom retains the right to keep anonimized versions of all translated contents, both in source and target langauges for Linguistic purposes such as Translation Memories, Machine Translation Training or Larege Language Model Finetuning.

J Rights to Source Content

The customer guarantees that they have the necessary rights of use and distribution for any materials they provide in support of and as the target of Semioticoms services. Upon initial request, the customer releases Semioticom from any claims brought by a third party due to an existing or alleged infringement of third-party proprietary rights.

K Confidentiality

The parties shall keep confidential, both during and beyond the respective contract terms, information, images and documentation concerning the circumstances, business processes and technical facilities of the respective other party. Neither party shall reconstruct, reproduce, publish or distribute to a third party in any manner above mentioned confidential materials without written consent to a third party, irrespective of the purpose of and circumstances that lead up to the moment of potentially sharing such information.
Information shall be deemed not confidential if, at the time the other party learns thereof, it was known to the public or, after such time, the public learns thereof without any involvement of such party or if such party has received the information from a third party that was not subject to an obligation of secrecy or if such party has discovered the information independently and without making use of confidential information of the other party.

Any party will be released from the obligation of confidentiality if, but only to the extent that such party is requested by a government agency, court of law or other government authority to share information that would usually be subject to confidentiality. Said party obliges itself under these Terms and Conditions, to swiftly inform the other party thereof as well as name the agency requesting the information and the extent thereof. The party forced by the law to share the information will ensure that the extent of the information to be shared be kept to a minimum where possible and shall, if possible, obtain a guarantee that the information to be shared will be handled in confidence. The party forced by the law to share the information shall take all reasonable measures to enable the other party to contest against said request for information.

L Liability and Limitations

Semioticom acknowledges the importance of effective communication and collaboration in the successful completion of translation projects, as outlined in Section D of these Terms and Conditions. The client bears the responsibility for providing clear, accurate, and comprehensive instructions, including context, reference materials, and project requirements. Semioticom cannot be held liable for issues arising from miscommunication, ambiguous instructions, or inadequate collaboration, as detailed in Section D. Furthermore, Semioticom’s liability is limited to the scope of the services provided and the quality standards outlined in Sections B and C of these Terms and Conditions. Semioticom shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, revenue, data, or use, arising out of or in connection with the translation services provided, unless otherwise mandated by applicable law. The client agrees that Semioticom’s total liability, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise, shall not exceed the total amount paid by the client for the specific translation project giving rise to the liability. By engaging Semioticom’s services, the client accepts these limitations of liability and agrees to indemnify and hold Semioticom harmless from any claims, losses, or damages arising from the client’s failure to comply with these Terms and Conditions.

M Non compete clause

Anyone, who has received information about Semioticoms clients, via an offcial channel, during the course of a cooperation agrees that, during the term of engagement with Semioticom and for a period of 3 years thereafter, they shall not directly or indirectly engage in any business activities that compete with Semioticom’s core business offerings, including but not limited to language translation, localization, and related services. This includes refraining from soliciting or accepting work from Semioticom’s current clients or prospective clients for similar services. The client further agrees not to recruit, hire, or solicit Semioticom’s employees or contractors for a period of 3 years following the termination of their engagement with Semioticom. This non-compete agreement is intended to protect Semioticom’s legitimate business interests, including its intellectual property, client relationships, and workforce. In the event of a breach of this agreement, the client acknowledges that Semioticom may seek injunctive relief and pursue legal remedies, including but not limited to monetary damages, to enforce compliance.

N Payment Terms

Unless otherwise agreed to in writing Semioticom expects and provides payment of invoices within 30 days of invoice receipt.

O Dispute Resolution and Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction for all disputes arising between the parties from and in connection with these Terms and Conditions and the respective contracts or orders lies with the courts in Berlin, Germany.

P Use of Subcontractors

Semioticom may leverage thrid parties for the provision of our services. Such subcontractors shall be bound by confidentiality terms at least as protective of our customers data as outlined in this agreement.

Q Late Payment

We will add a 3% and compounding late payment fee for every 5 business days that any one of our invoices is overdue. 

R Final Provision

Should any part of these Terms and Conditions be ineffective under German law, the validity of the rest of these Terms and Conditions shall in no way be affected.

The customer shall be permitted setoff against counterclaims only if they have been confirmed by judgment of a german court or acknowledged by Semioticom.