General Terms and Conditions for Translators & Agencies

§ 1 - General

(1) The following General Terms and Conditions (GTC) apply exclusively to all existing and future legal transactions between Toptranslation GmbH, Ferdinandstraße 29-33, 20095 Hamburg (hereinafter referred to as "Toptranslation") and the translator or agency. (hereinafter uniformly referred to as translator, unless the agency is expressly named) The GTC shall apply to all future orders, offers, deliveries and services within the framework of an ongoing business relationship, even without express inclusion.

§ 2 - Suitability and qualification

(1) The translator warrants that he has the qualifications specified in the contract and has provided true information about himself.

(2) Toptranslation is entitled to demand that the translator submit suitable documents to verify this information and to store these documents in order to fulfill its contractual obligations.

§ 3 - Scope of services

(1) The translator receives an offer from Toptranslation for the translation of a text on a case-by-case basis. Upon acceptance of the quotation by the translator, a translation contract is concluded between the parties under the conditions stated in the quotation.

(2) The translator shall provide his services in person. The client is not entitled to use employees or third parties to carry out the order without the prior consent of Toptranslation. When commissioning agencies, the agency is obliged to carefully select and monitor the translator. The agency is obliged to provide Toptranslation, on request, with the name of the specific translator selected or to entrust a specific/other translator with the translation.

(3) The translation shall be carried out carefully in accordance with the principles of proper professional practice. The translator undertakes to submit only carefully translated texts. In principle, he is not entitled to provide partial services. Toptranslation receives the translation in the contractually agreed version within the contractually agreed delivery time.

(4) The translator shall be provided in good time with the desired forms of the translation (intended use, delivery on data carriers, number of copies, readiness for printing, external form of the translation, etc.) as well as the information and documents necessary for the preparation of the translation. He undertakes to render the text to be translated accurately and professionally in the agreed language and to carry out the translation without abridgements, additions or other changes to the content. Depending on the meaning of the original text, translations are to be carried out literally or analogously and in accordance with the quality standards of the translation industry in the respective language area. Any individual technical terminology provided by the client must be taken into account.

(5) The translator must contact Toptranslation immediately in the event of any questions or uncertainties. Direct contact with the client of Toptranslation is not permitted.

(6) Toptranslation is entitled to carry out a random check of the texts submitted by the translator to ensure quality. The translator has no right to have the texts submitted by him checked.

§ 4 - Granting of rights

(1) By sending the translation, the translator declares that he has written it himself and that no rights of third parties exist in the translation other than those already existing in the subject matter handed over to him for translation. Agencies ensure that there are no third-party rights to the translation.

(2) By sending the translation, the translator grants Toptranslation the exclusive right to use and exploit the translation without restriction in terms of time, space and location. This includes in particular the right to edit, modify, reproduce, publicly reproduce or otherwise exploit the translation services as well as all rights required for the use for the respective contractual purpose of the client.

(3) Toptranslation is entitled to grant and/or transfer rights of use to third parties, in particular to its clients, and to pass on the translation for free use.

(4) The translator waives his right to be designated and/or named as the author.

§ 5 - Remuneration

(1) The translator shall receive the remuneration agreed in the respective contract for the translation. This is based on the number of words/lines or pages, language combination, difficulty, subject area of the translation or as a flat rate. The remuneration stated in the contract is net plus the applicable value added tax, insofar as this is incurred by law. Remuneration shall be in euros unless another currency has been agreed. The following definitions apply:

(2) Lines: 55 characters

(3) Pages: 30 lines

(4) The translator must provide Toptranslation with a proper monthly invoice for the service rendered at the end of each month at the latest, stating the applicable VAT or the reason for not charging it. Invoices are due on the 15th and 30th of each month, but not before receipt of the respective invoice.

(5) The translator shall independently take care of the taxation of the income from the translations in accordance with the laws applicable to him.

(6) Any costs and expenses are covered by the agreed remuneration. A claim for the reimbursement of costs and expenses in the context of the contractual translation exists only insofar as they can be proven to have actually been incurred and have been agreed with Toptranslation.

(7) There is no entitlement to an advance on costs. The translator is also not entitled to take partial services into account.

§ 6 - Confidentiality

(1) The translator must treat as confidential any information about Toptranslation and/or its clients that comes to his knowledge in the course of the contractual relationship, as well as any documents and materials handed over, and undertakes not to use or exploit them or pass them on to third parties without express written consent. He must also delete the data immediately after final completion of the order. If the translator has already deleted the data but is obliged to correct it, Toptranslation will provide him with the necessary data.

§ 7 - Warranty, default

(1) Toptranslation has the statutory warranty rights towards the translator.

(2) If the translator does not rectify the claimed defects within a reasonable period of time, Toptranslation is entitled to have the defects rectified by another translator at the translator's expense or, alternatively, to demand a reduction in payment or to withdraw from the contract.

(3) The Translator shall be deemed to be in default of performance if the service is not delivered or is delivered poorly by the agreed delivery date. He must compensate Toptranslation for the resulting damage. Toptranslation is entitled to set the translator a reasonable grace period to deliver the translation and, if this period expires without delivery, to withdraw from the contract and claim damages.

(4) The translator must inform Toptranslation immediately as soon as he/she becomes aware of any circumstances that could affect the timely delivery.

§ 8 - Liability

(1) Toptranslation is only liable for damages caused by intentional or grossly negligent breaches of duty by Toptranslation, its legal representatives or vicarious agents. This shall apply accordingly in the event of a breach of pre-contractual or ancillary contractual obligations as well as in the event of defects and consequential damages. Toptranslation's liability for damages under the Product Liability Act and for damages due to injury to life, limb or health remains unaffected by this exclusion of liability.

§ 9 - Exemption

(1) The translator indemnifies Toptranslation against all third-party claims made against Toptranslation on the basis of the translation. This includes, in particular, claims based on the content of the translation services and/or other property rights of third parties (e.g. copyrights). The indemnification also includes the assumption of the costs incurred for legal prosecution and defense.

§ 10 - Final provisions

(1) The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

(2) The place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from the contractual relationship is Hamburg.

(3) Should individual provisions of the respective contract between the parties be invalid or unenforceable or become invalid or unenforceable after conclusion of the contract, this shall not affect the validity of the remainder of the respective contract.