1. General

These General Terms and Conditions (GTCs) apply to all current and future business relationships between ATP Lingua, registered office Falkenweg 6, 8046 Graz, Austria – hereinafter referred to as ATP – and its customers, even if ATP no longer refers to the GTCs when accepting individual orders. ATP provides its services exclusively on the basis of these General Terms and Conditions.

2. Scope of services

ATP undertakes to translate an ordered text properly and professionally in the agreed language and to ensure that the translation is carried out without abbreviations, additions or other changes to the content. Individual specialised terminology introduced by the customer will only be taken into account if sufficient and complete documents, such as pre-translations or word lists, are provided when the order is placed. Specialised terms will otherwise be translated into the usual, lexicographically acceptable or generally understandable version. Depending on the language and level of difficulty, 5-10 standard pages of 1,650 computer characters each are processed per working day. ATP may utilise third parties for the execution of all tasks if it deems it appropriate at its discretion. Contact between the customer and the third party commissioned by ATP requires the express authorisation of ATP.

The customer must inform ATP of any special forms of translation (e.g. delivery on data carriers, number of copies, external form of the translation). The intended use (certification, publication, legal purposes and patent proceedings, etc.) of the translation must be notified to ATP when the order is placed. If the translation is intended for printing, the customer must provide ATP with a proof for correction. ATP cannot be held responsible for errors resulting from the customer’s failure to comply with these obligations. Additional services such as DTP, printing or layout design are agreed separately and invoiced when the order is placed. All orders will be treated as strictly confidential.

3. Quotation, order confirmation and order placement

Verbal offers are non-binding and require written confirmation by ATP. An effective contractual relationship is only established by the written order confirmation. The customer shall place orders with ATP in electronic or other form. Verbal collateral agreements and changes to orders are only valid subject to written confirmation by ATP.

4. Prices

Unless otherwise agreed, all offers and prices of ATP are non-binding. They may be adjusted to actual circumstances and changes in workload without separate notification. Prices are quoted in Euro unless another currency has been agreed. All prices quoted in ATP’s quotations are net prices excluding VAT. Payment terms, discounts or other deductions are not granted unless they have been expressly agreed.

Translations are calculated according to the number of words in the source text. Unless otherwise agreed, the source text shall form the basis for invoicing. Appropriate surcharges will be charged for express and weekend work.

5. Delivery times

Delivery deadlines are only valid if they have been confirmed in writing by ATP. Delivery times are calculated on the basis of working days. If no explicit delivery date has been agreed between the customer and ATP, delivery shall take place within the period required for careful completion. In the event of non-compliance with an agreed delivery date, default only arises after a written reminder from the customer. ATP must first be granted a reasonable grace period (half of the original delivery time). Only after the grace period has expired without result can the customer cancel the order to the exclusion of compensation. All claims on both sides shall lapse with this cancellation. In the event of non-compliance with the agreed delivery date due to events for which we are not responsible or force majeure (for example: sudden illness of an employee, IT failure that cannot be rectified at short notice), the expiry of any deadline shall be suspended. The customer must be informed of such events immediately. The deadline shall not begin to run again until the fault in question has been rectified. A claim for cancellation or reduction is excluded in this case.

6. Liability, complaints, warranty

If no special agreements have been made regarding the qualitative requirements for the translations, or if no specific requirements are evident from the nature of the order, ATP shall produce the translation of the text professionally and to the best of its knowledge and belief, in full and with the correct meaning and grammar for the purpose of providing information. If the customer does not raise any written objections without delay, but within 10 working days at the latest, the translation is deemed to have been approved.

In this case, the customer waives all claims. Liability for damages arising from the fact that the customer has passed on the service unchecked is excluded. If the customer complains within this 10-day period (date of the delivery note or invoice) about an objectively existing, not merely insignificant defect, this must be described as precisely as possible. In this case, ATP is entitled to rectify the defect. If the defects are rectified by ATP within the specified period, the customer is not entitled to a price reduction. In the case of insignificant defects, there is no right of cancellation or reduction ( decrease in payment). If the customer does not wish the defect to be rectified, for whatever reason, he is not entitled to reduce the fee or refuse payment. The customer shall only be entitled to withdraw from the contract or reduce the price if the rectification is unsatisfactory. Further claims, regardless of the legal reason, are excluded. The amount of liability shall in any case be limited to the value of the order in question. No liability is accepted for errors in translations and deliveries caused by the customer due to incorrect or incomplete information or incorrect original texts. Recourse liability in the event of claims for damages by third parties is expressly excluded. If the customer does not specify the intended use of the translation, especially if it is to be published, he cannot demand compensation for damages.

If the customer does not state that the translation is intended for printing or does not provide ATP with a proof before printing or prints without ATP’s approval, any defects shall be borne in full by the customer. Figures are only reproduced according to the manuscript. No liability is accepted for the conversion of figures, measurements and currencies. ATP accepts no liability whatsoever for manuscripts and other materials provided by the customer, unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing. No liability is accepted for proofreading services if the source text has not been provided.

The customer shall be responsible for ensuring that the documents provided by him are not objectionable under competition, trademark and naming law. He must also ensure that copyright authorisations are obtained and undertakes to indemnify ATP in full against any such liability claims.

7. Delivery

Unless otherwise agreed, the translated text will be delivered by post or e-mail, depending on the size and type of the order. The customer undertakes to confirm receipt of the translation to ATP immediately. The risks associated with the delivery (transmission) shall be borne by the customer. Unless otherwise agreed, the documents provided to ATP by the customer shall remain with ATP after completion of the translation order.

ATP is not obliged to store or otherwise handle these documents. Text documents will only be returned at the request and risk of the customer.

8. Terms of payment and retention of title

Invoices from ATP are payable immediately upon receipt without deduction. ATP is authorised to demand an appropriate payment on account. Private individuals, foreign or new customers are required to pay the full order amount in advance. For larger orders, payment in instalments is required, as the translators are invoiced on a fortnightly basis. In the event of non-compliance with the terms of payment agreed between the customer and ATP, ATP is entitled to suspend work on the orders to be processed until the customer fulfils his payment obligations. This also applies to orders for which a fixed delivery time has been agreed.

The customer who is in default is obliged to return to ATP on request any delivered translations that are still subject to retention of title or is not permitted to use them.

In the event of default, ATP is also entitled to charge the usual bank default interest from the date of default (invoice date + 7 days). The delivered translation or service remains the property of ATP until all claims have been paid in full; until then the customer has no right of use.

9. Copyright

The customer shall be responsible for compliance with the copyright provisions with regard to the translation templates and shall fully indemnify ATP against any liability. ATP accepts no liability whatsoever for materials, shipping instructions, processing specifications and the like provided by the customer.

ATP is not obliged to check these for compliance with legal regulations. The copyright of the service remains with ATP (translation, typesetting, graphics, etc.).

The assignment of this right must be agreed separately in each case.

10. Place of jurisdiction and applicable law

The place of fulfilment and jurisdiction for delivery and payment and all claims and legal disputes arising therefrom shall be Graz (even if the actual awarding of the contract has taken place at a different location as agreed). Austrian law shall apply.

11. Changes to the GTCs

ATP reserves the right to amend these GTCs at any time and without stating reasons. Only the version of the GTCs valid at the time the order is placed shall be effective.

12. Final provisions

Collateral agreements, warranties or other arrangements as well as amendments and additions to the order must be made in writing to be valid. Should a provision of these GTCs be wholly or partially void or ineffective, the effectiveness of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected.