Terms and Conditions/取引条件
Translation - I usually ask for £80 for 1000 characters of Japanese text. I ignore English words and numbers in calculating the total number of characters per page. As a guideline, I assume that one page of a Japanese patent (published by the Japanese Patent Office) has 90 full lines of text with 22 Japanese characters per line. This approximates 2000 characters per page but most pages are interspersed with figures, diagrams, paragraphs, spaces and subsection headings so the actual character count per page is often much lower. For WIPO patents the character count is about 800 Japanese characters per full text page. I will look over texts and make an estimate of the character count if requested. There is no charge for character count estimates and I will gladly advise you on deadlines and costs.
Proofreading - I do not usually undertake proofreading of another translator's work.
Other Terms and Conditions - If you ask me to translate a document for you, then you agree to purchase the translated document at the cost agreed upon. If, however, a project is cancelled before it is finished, you are only required to pay for the number of characters already translated. I do not require first-time customers to make advanced payments but I may check the integrity of customers and agencies with fellow translators, J-Net, ITI and other sources (a practice which is routine amongst translators when working for new clients). Payments are requested on the last working day of the month following the month in which the translation is completed and delivered or by instalments for large projects if so negotiated. An invoice will be sent and payments can be made by cheque, UK bank transfer or via PayPal subject to our agreement. I reserve the right to charge interest on late payments (although I have never received a late payment in the past 14 years of translating!).
Secrecy - I undertake all translations on a confidential basis and will not divulge the content or nature of any translation project to a third party. I am prepared to sign a confidentiality agreement if requested. I will not use documents which I have been paid to translate and for which I have agreed to conditions of secrecy as examples of my work on my website or for potential clients. I will nominally keep all documents secret for a two-year period from the date of translation unless I agree to do otherwise.
