General business terms

1 General provisions

1.1 These General business terms, hereinafter the “General terms”, issued according to Section 273 par. 1 of Act No. 513/1991 Coll. (Commercial Code of the Czech Republic), relate to the activities of the company Pygmalion, s. r. o., registered office Mánesova 536/27, 737 01 Český Těšín, Czech Republic, hereinafter the “contractor” and natural persons or corporate bodies (clients) ordering translations or interpreting (hereinafter the “client”).

1.2 The subject is providing services related to the business of the contractor, i.e. mainly translating and interpreting and additional services.

1.3 The contractor and the client (hereinafter the “contractual parties”) must abide by these General terms.

1.4 The General terms are an integral part of the written contract on translation work (general contract or contracts for specific translation, localisation or interpreting) concluded between the client and the contractor, if a contract was concluded. Differing provisions of the contract have priority over the wording of the General terms.

1.5 A contract between the client and the contractor also originates without concluding a written contract on translation work on the basis of a written order acknowledged (approved) by both parties. The confirmed order is a contract and these General terms are an integral part of it.

1.6 A written order, hereinafter an “order” is considered an order if it contains all the requirements (see point 1.7.), if it has been delivered to the address of the contractor (see point 1.1) and if an additional order has been sent by electronic mail (e-mail) or an electronic order which the client has completed and sent from the www pages of the contractor. The official pages of the contractor are www.prekladypygmalion.cz.

1.7 The order must contain the following information:

• the exact correspondence address (and also invoicing address, if different from the correspondence address), including the company ID number (IČO) and VAT number,
• the ordering person’s contact,
• specification of the translation or interpreting,
• required or previously agreed deadline of the translation or date of interpreting,
• the purpose for which the translation will be used (mainly for texts for public presentation or publication),
• other text editing requirements (what proofreading is required),
• text graphic layout requirements,
• contact to a person who can be consulted about professional terminology and abbreviations,
• stamp and signature (this is not sent for an electronic order, however, the contractor is entitled to ask the client for an additional printed order with the stamp and signature).

1.8 The contractor must confirm a written order (also electronically, which is considered the same as an electronic order). The order and these General terms come into validity with the written acknowledgement (also electronic). If the contractor requires an additional printed order with a stamp and signature (see point 1.7) to be sent, this does not affect the validity and content of an already acknowledged electronic order.

1.9 The contractor considers all information and documents provided by the client in relation to the order as strictly confidential and undertakes not to provide them to any unauthorized person. Authorized persons are also, in addition to the employees of the contractor, translators and interpreters who have concluded a contract containing a secrecy provision or who have signed a declaration on keeping data secret and secure with the contractor.

1.10 The client has the right to request a non binding and free quote of the price and time schedule according to a request sent to the contractor.

1.11 The contractor is not liable for any consequences related to breaching copyright due to the client’s culpability.

2 Translations

2.1 Terminology specification

• Translation - written translation of the text from the source language into the target language.
• Interpreting - oral interpreting of the text from the source language to the target language.
• Source language - language in which the source text is written or spoken to be interpreted into the target language.
• Source text - text to be translated.
• Source word - word of the text to be translated.
• Target language - language in which the target text is written or to which the interpreting is performed.
• Target text - translated text.
• Target word - word of the translated text.
• Legally verified translation (verified, official, legal or with a legal clause) - translation produced in accordance with Act No. 36/1967 Coll., on experts and interpreters, carried out by a translator (in the language of the Act “interpreter”) appointed by the respective regional court. A verified translation is bound to the original or verified photo copy of the original of the translated document and, therefore, it is exclusively on paper, not electronic. The client must submit the original or verified photo copy of the translated document. The photo copies are verified by notaries and municipal offices.
• Apostille – a document attached to verified documents and is an acknowledgement of the veracity and validity of the document. This is ‘higher’ verification of a deed – legalisation (verification of stamps and official signatures) for use abroad. It involves verification (apostillisation) of a legally verified translation and the legal translator’s registration.
• Super legalisation - higher verification of a verified (legalised) document in the state where the document is to be used. It is not needed for participants of the Hague Convention or states with which the Czech Republic has a bilateral agreement. In this case, the apostille is the final verification.
• Proofreading - factual, grammar or stylistic correction or editing of the source or target text without changing the meaning of the text.
• Basic language proofreading - proofreading of the overall quality of the source or target text, grammar, completeness and graphics, and removing any minor errors or typos.
• Professional proofreading – proofreading of the use of special expressions for the stated professional field and the uniformity of used expressions using a delivered or created dictionary of terms or in another way agreed in advance.
• Style proofreading – editing stylistics (e.g. sequence order of words in sentences or whole sentences, understanding and readability for the stated use, for the target country and the target reader).
• Pre-printing proofreading - removes typographic errors (for DTP studio processing after conversion into HTML format, etc.), e.g. incorrect hyphenation of words at the end of lines, shift of images or text, incomplete character of texts, missing accents.
• Output proofreading - checking if, with regard to the stated use of the text, the correct proofreading was ordered by the client, whether this proofreading was carried out and whether comments were taken into consideration. Overall proofreading of the completeness of the text and graphics and random proofreading of the quality of the translation.
• Graphic layout - graphic layout of texts, graphs and images into the required form in the respective graphic editor.
• Standard page (NS) - one standard page of the text = 30 lines of 60 characters, i.e. 1800 characters, including one space after each word.
• One common page in A4 format - contains a various number of standard pages according to the type and the size of the font. It may contain, for example, 0.5 NS, but when using small fonts, 6 NS or more.
• Normal translation deadline - 1,200 source words translated during one working day by one translator and the day the contractor takes over the translation is not included in the number of working days. The deadline for larger translations in a shorter period depends on the number of translators the contractor can use at the same time.
• Working hours for receiving orders in the contractor’s time schedule - from 08:00 to 16:00 during working hours in the Czech Republic.

2.2 General provisions

2.2.1 The contractor undertakes when fulfilling the terms to carry out the agreed work and hand it over within the agreed time to the client in the agreed manner.

2.2.2 The client undertakes to take over the work within the agreed deadline and to pay the contractor the agreed price within the agreed deadline.

2.2.3 The contractor invoices the client ordering translation work for the basic rate and the standard deadline if the initial (source) text is in a standard, understandable and legible format, without special graphic changes. For a complicated graphic mode text and format (e.g. PDF), the contractor can prolong the deadline or invoice at an extra charge. If the contractor has the source text from the client before starting the work, the contractor will notify the client if the text is complicated and agree on the terms (prolonged deadline, price of graphic modifications, etc.). If the contractor does not have the text before starting the work and the work is more demanding, the contractor is entitled to have the deadline prolonged or charge for the work.

2.2.4 The client takes into consideration that the ownership of the translation is only transferred to the client after the whole price of the work is paid. Until this time, the translation is the property of the contractor.

2.2.5 For a copyright translation pursuant to the Copyright Act, i.e. copyright work produced by creatively processing another work, including translating the work into another language, the provisions of the Copyright Act No. 121/2000 Coll.) are valid for both contractual parties.

2.3 Handing over and taking over date of the work

2.3.1 The contractor must acknowledge receipt of a request or order immediately after it is received during working hours. If the request or order is delivered at the end of working hours or after working hours, the contractor can acknowledge it the following working day.

2.3.2 The client must take over the work within the deadline and in the way stated in the acknowledged order or in the written contract.

2.3.3 The client must confirm the receipt of the work to the contractor immediately after it is received.

2.3.4 If the client does not acknowledge receiving the work and does not request its delivery within 24 hours, the contractor will consider that the client has received the work properly and in time.

2.3.5 If the contractor receives a justified urgent call about the work, the work must be sent immediately.

2.3.6 If the client requests the delivery of work carried out by the contractor and the contractor states that the work was sent within the agreed deadline and in the agreed way, this is not considered a late delivery.

2.3.7 If the client refuses to take over properly carried out work without a justifiable reason, the work is considered as handed over. The contractor has the right to issue an invoice and the client is obliged to pay it.

2.4 Rights and obligations

2.4.1 The client must notify the contractor of the purpose for which the client wants to use the translation. This mainly involves public presentation or publication of the translation (in printed form or on a website) or its legal use (e.g. use of a contract for a legal act), or another use for which corrections are required, as well as use pursuant to the copyright act.

2.4.2 If the contractor is not notified of this purpose, it is considered that the translation is for general purposes and not for publication and claims for reasons related to the use of the translation cannot then be considered. If the client wants to use the translation for publication or other than general purposes (see point 2.4.1), the order must include the respective proofreading. See “proofreading” point 2.1. - Terminology.

2.4.3 If the source text for translation contains professional terms, special company terminology, less known abbreviations, etc., the client must hand over to the contractor a list of the terms in the stated language; provide the contractor extra materials with the approved terminology (reference texts) or enable this terminology to be consulted with a specific authorized employee of the client. If this is not provided, later claims regarding this terminology cannot be taken into consideration.

2.4.4 The client must notify the contractor whether graphic layout of the document is required. If this is the case, specifications must be included in the notification.

2.4.5 If the contractor is not notified of the layout (including specification), any claims about the layout of the document cannot be taken into consideration.

2.4.6 The client must inform the contractor of all circumstances that may affect the payment of work. The client must inform the contractor if a decision on declaring bankruptcy has been issued on the client’s assets and if the client has entered into liquidation.

2.5 Translation claims

2.5.1 A translation is incorrect if it is not in accordance with the order (e.g. the extent or required layout) or lacks quality.

2.5.2 In other cases, it is considered that the translation is correct.

2.5.3 Claims can be made personally, by fax, electronic mail or traditional mail. It must contain the reason and a description of the defects and how often they occur or, a proposal for solving the claim.

2.5.4 If the contractor acknowledges the claim as justified, the contractor will immediately carry out corrections at its own cost. In this case, the client is entitled to an appropriate discount on the translation price depending on the extent and importance of the mistakes, but only up to 10% of the price.

2.5.5 If the contractor acknowledges the claim as justified, and the client does not accept the corrections, the client will be provided with a discount corresponding to the extent of the mistakes.

2.5.6 If a dispute occurs between the contractor and the client about the justification of the requests of the client on the liability of the contractor for mistakes or the amount of the discount, both the contractual parties undertake to resolve this dispute by negotiation through an expert opinion of an independent translator selected by agreement between the parties. This normally involves a translator from the list of legal translators and interpreters maintained by the respective court or a native speaker agreed by the parties. Both parties must know the estimate of the price of an expert opinion.

2.5.7 The independent translator evaluates the quality of the translation compared with the source text (not only the target text). The client and the contractor are entitled to hand over to the independent translator all relevant information related to the claim.

2.5.8 The client and the contractor must pay the same advance amount for the expert opinion according to point 2.5.6. These costs will be finally settled according to the successfulness of the claim proceedings.

2.5.9 The discount will be set according to this expert opinion.

2.5.10 The contractor is liable for damage caused by defects in the translation up to the price of the translation.

2.5.11 If the expert opinion states that the claim was not justified, the client will pay the costs for the evaluation of the expert opinion.

2.5.12 The client must notify the contractor of mistakes in the work properly and without delay (no later than within 5 weeks of taking over the translation).

2.5.13 If the client applies contractor liability claims later, they will be considered expired.

2.5.14 A claim does not suspend the maturity period of the issued invoice for the claimed service or another type of payment for a service.

3 Interpreting

3.1 General provisions

3.1.1 The contractor undertakes to provide interpreting according to an acknowledged order (in the stated languages within the stated time and in the agreed place).

3.1.2 The client undertakes to pay the contractor the final price for the interpreting.

3.1.3 The contractor provides the interpreting through an interpreter.

3.1.4 The client must inform the contractor immediately after the interpreting whether the interpreting was correct and on time. If not, the contractor considers that the interpreting was correct and on time.

3.1.5 If the client cancels properly ordered interpreting without serious reason, the client must pay a cancellation fee according to point 6.4. of these General terms.

3.2 Rights and obligations

3.2.1 The client must notify the contractor of the purpose of the interpreting and the use of a recording, if produced.

3.2.2 If the contractor is not notified of this purpose, later claims related to this interpreting cannot be accepted.

3.2.3 The client must deliver to the contractor the interpreting programme and related texts for the preparation of the interpreter no more than 5 days in advance. If not, claims regarding the terminology used by the interpreter cannot be accepted.

3.2.4 The client must inform the contractor of all circumstances that may affect the payment of work. The client must inform the contractor if a decision on declaring bankruptcy has been issued on the client’s assets and if the client has entered into liquidation.

3.2.5 The contractor is not liable for any consequences related to a breach of copyright due to the client’s culpability.

3.2.6 The contractor and the interpreter will consider strictly confidential all information and materials related to the interpretation.

3.2.7 The client is not entitled to more work from the interpreter than that of interpreting, e.g. a written memo of the meeting, a written translation, guide and organisational services.

3.2.8 The client must provide conditions appropriate to the type of interpretation, including technical equipment (cabins, earphones, microphones, etc.), perfect audibility and sufficient space for the work if technical equipment is not ordered together with the interpretation from the contractor. The client must also hand over to the interpreter all written texts which will be read by lecturers.

3.2.9 The contractor’s interpreter must be properly dressed according to the type of interpretation.

3.2.10 The interpreter works according to the standard practices in the profession and carries out his/her work according to the best knowledge and ethics.

3.2.11 The interpreter is entitled to refuse to work in an unpleasant physical, psychical or ethical environment producing conditions degrading for interpreting profession.

3.3 Transport, accommodation and boarding

3.3.1 The working day of the interpreter is 8 hours. All breaks and interruptions are included in the working hours.

3.3.2 The contractor has the right to invoice the same rate for the time the interpreter spent travelling or missed in relation to the interpretation as for interpreting.

3.3.3 If the client is not going to provide transport for the interpreter from the agreed place to the interpreting place, the client must inform the contractor sufficiently in advance. The client must pay the contractor the interpreter’s travel expenses, including a complete allowance according to the valid travel expenses regulations.

3.3.4 The client must provide accommodation for the interpreter in a single bedroom with accessories. If this cannot be provided, the client must inform the contractor in time and request the interpreter’s consent to alternative accommodation.

3.3.5 During the interpreting, the client must provide the interpreter with a break of at least half an hour after every four hours of interpreting.

3.3.6 The client must provide boarding for the interpreter according to standard practice and the valid boarding compensation regulations.

3.4 Interpreting claims

3.4.1 Interpreting has mistakes if it was not carried out in accordance with the order or at the stated quality.

3.4.2 Claims can be applied personally, by fax, electronic mail or traditional mail. A claim must contain the reason and a description of the mistakes, as well as the extent of their occurrence (with the submission of a video or audio recording if available).

3.4.3 If the contractor acknowledges the claim as justified, a discount will be provided according to the extent of the mistakes.

3.4. If a dispute occurs between the contractor and the client about the justification of the client’s request about the contractor’s liability for mistakes or the amount of the discount, both contractual parties undertake to resolve this dispute by negotiation through an expert opinion of an independent interpreter selected by agreement between the parties.

2.5.9 The discount will be set according to this expert opinion.

3.4.6 The client and the contractor must pay the same advance amount to the independent interpreter for the expert opinion. These costs will be finally settled according to the successfulness of the claim proceedings.

3.4.7 The contractor is liable for damage caused by mistakes in the interpreting up to the price of the interpreting.

3.4.8 If the expert opinion states that the claim was not justified, the costs for the evaluation of the expert opinion are paid by the client.

3.4.9 The client must claim for mistakes to the interpreting at the contractor properly and without delay immediately after the interpreting, however, no later than within 5 days.

03.04.10 If the client applies contractor liability claims later, they are considered expired.

03.04.11 A claim does not suspend the maturity period of an issued invoice for the claimed service or for another type of payment for the service.

4 Prices

4.1 The prices for all services are contractual and are agreed between the client and the contractor. They are either agreed in the translation services contract or in the price quote confirmed by the client by a written order (see point 1 – General provisions).

4.2 All prices are without VAT.

4.3 Translation rates depend on:

• the type of translation (standard/ legally certified),
• the language combination,
• the difficultly of the text,
• the quality of the source text,
• the required deadline.

4.4 The interpreting rates are mainly influenced by the type of interpreting (simultaneous, consecutive, simultaneous cabin) and the language combination.

4.5 The invoice quantity unit for translations and proofreading is one source word or one standard page; for legally certified translations, see below – point 4.8.

4.6 The price for legally verified translations is calculated according to the number of standard pages of the final translation. It is rounded up to the next whole standard page.

4.7 The contractor has the right to charge extra for work done on days off or holidays, for translating or transcribing sound or video records, translating difficult to read source texts and express translations (more than 5 standard pages per working day).

4.8 The client has the right to ask for a discount for extensive work.

5 Payment terms

5.1 The price for the work is paid according to a tax document issued by the contractor with the maturity date stated in the document. Unless stated otherwise in the contract, the usual maturity period is 14 days.

5.2 The contractor is entitled to issue the client a tax document when handing over the work or after the interpreting is finished.

5.3 The contractor is also entitled to issue the client an advance invoice before commencing work or when carrying out the work. The advance invoice is due within the maturity period stated in the invoice.

5.4 If payment of the invoice is overdue, the client will pay the contractor 0.1% of the due amount for each overdue day.

6 Cancelling the contract and damage compensation

6.1 Both contractual parties have the right to cancel the contract if after it is concluded obstacles occur that prevent it fulfilling the commitment which cannot be removed.

6.2 A contractual party must notify the second contractual party of cancelling the contract in writing.

6.3 If the client cancels the translation (or proofreading) contract, the client must pay a proportional part of the agreed price for already completed translations which the contractor will immediately send to the client or the price of the whole translation if it has already been done.

6.4 If the client cancels an interpreting contract 20 to 15 calendar days before the agreed day of the interpreting, the cancellation fee is 20% of the agreed price; 10 to 7 days before the agreed date of the interpreting, 50 %; and 1 day before the agreed date or on the same day, 100% of the agreed price.

6.5 The contractor is not liable to the client for damage from not implementing an event because of unexpected and unavoidable situations that could not be prevented.

6.6 The client must inform the contractor if the translated text is to be used for publication. If not, the client does not have the right to damage compensation for mistakes in the translated text.

7 Final provisions

7.1 The client undertakes to not contact translators and interpreters directly without the consent of the contractor.

7.2 If, with the consent of the contractor, the client contacts the translator or interpreter, the client undertakes not to discuss matters concerning the business terms agreed with the contractor.

7.3 The client undertakes to inform the contractor about any new negotiations with the translator or interpreter.

7.4 If the obligations stated in points 7.1 to 7.3 are breached, the client must pay the contractor a contractual penalty of CZK 50,000 for each breach, even if the order will not be properly completed.

7.5 If these General terms or the translation services contract do not state otherwise, the legal relations between the contractual parties are governed by the provisions of Act No. 513/1991 Coll. (Commercial Code of the Czech Republic).

7.6 The wording of these General terms is binding on both contractual parties.

7.7 These General terms become valid on 9. 1. 2012.

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