As a translation company specialized in legal translation, we often come across sensitive documents such as contracts, powers of attorney, memoranda of association, and so on. We pay great attention to confidentiality, that is keeping our clients’ data private. For this reason, our translators, interpreters and project managers have to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) when they start working with us. If a translation project requires special confidentiality provisions, they will also have to sign project-specific NDAs.
Now let’s take a look at a few questions clients often ask us about confidentiality.
What is an NDA?
An NDA is a contract by means of which at least two parties agree not to disclose information covered by the agreement. It aims to protect any type of confidential information or trade secret. It is important to point out that, even if a translation project has been finalized, the related NDA keeps being valid up until the termination date of the contract.
What is meant by “confidential information”?
This term refers to pieces of information that one only shares with selected people, who commit themselves not to disclose them. Confidential information may be of any kind: economic, technical, commercial, strategic, and so on. In the case of language services, confidential information may be included either in written documents to be translated or in oral speeches to be interpreted. Whichever is the case, any direct or indirect disclosure of this information is to be considered a violation of the contract and will therefore be prosecuted.
Are there any exceptions to an NDA?
It depends on the specific NDA provisions. For instance, some NDAs state that confidential information entering the public domain is no longer to be considered confidential and confidentiality can no longer be required of the receiving party if that disclosure occurred through no breach or fault on the receiving party’s side.
Do all translation companies apply confidentiality policies?
Some do, others don’t. The ones who do not offer guarantees regarding confidentiality are to be considered unprofessional. They often offer more economical prices but they expose potential clients to considerable risks regarding the confidentiality of their data. We strongly recommend you to entrust your translation tasks to professional companies operating under strict confidentiality policies, which is exactly what we do at Langpros.
