We've blogged about multilingual contract translation services in the context of putting the agreement in writing. In international law cases, the issue of selecting a forum can come down to the interpretation of such contractual terms as 'of' and 'in' - showing just how important foreign language translation is in drafting international contracts.
The universal confusion between translators and interpreters comes to light when members of legal profession develop a need for a certified translation. Consider the following hypothetical: A young litigation associate has an English-language legal document that needs to be translated into Italian. The case is filed with the Civil Branch of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County. In order to introduce it as an exhibit at trial, a certified translation of the document is required. Not sure what 'certified' means, the associate picks up the phone and asks his legal translation company to arrange for the document to be translated by someone certified by the New York Courts.
Continue reading "Certified Multilingual Translations for Court Filing" »
We've blogged about professional legal and corporate translation and interpretation services in the context of foreign insolvency proceedings. The basic tool of debt collection is the demand letter. However, this basic legal tool becomes more complex when the demand for payment pertains to a company based in a foreign country. At the very foundation of the complexities is the need for a foreign language translation of the letter, but that is just the beginning of the challenges of debt collecting in a foreign country.
The typical demand letter addressed to an American company is long with considerable attention paid to the facts and applicable law. The letter concludes with a statement on what can be expected from a jury and that it would therefore 'be in their best interest' to find a resolution. The response then typically focuses on pointing out the gaps in the demanding party's case and stating how expensive it will be to collect anything.
Certified legal translation services and legal interpretation services by court-certified interpreters play an important role in copyright infringement cases. The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari to consider whether the first sale doctrine is applicable to imported goods manufactured abroad within the context of copyright infringement. The first sale doctrine (17 USC section 109(a)) is a defense to a copyright infringement claim where the owner of the copyright consents to the first sale of its copyright work. However, there is question as to whether this defense applies when the copyrighted work is manufactured and first sold abroad.
Continue reading "Certified Legal Translation Services, Copyright Law and the First Sale Doctrine" »
Although case law, courts and the general public tend to use the terms "translator" and "interpreter" interchangeably - and even refer to "court interpreters" as "court translators" - the terms actually refer to two different professions, which require two very different skills and methods.
By definition, "translation" is the process of rendering a written text from one language to another. "Interpretation", or "interpreting", on the other hand, is a process of oral rendition of speech from one language into another.
We've blogged about intellectual property translation and legal translation and court interpreting services in the context of U.S. International Trade Commission, as well as about patent translation and legal translation services for patent protection . The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that under section 271(b) of the Patent Act, an individual can be held liable for inducing the infringement of a patent (causing another person to directly infringe a patent). However, the statute is unclear about what conduct or intent is required to constitute inducing infringement.
Professional legal language translation and multilingual legal interpreting services play an important role in child custody cases. In a recent Texan case, Delgado-Ramirez v Lopez, the court rejected a defense involving the exercise of rights of custody - in contradiction to a foreign court's revocation of parental rights prior to the wrongful removal. In this particular case, the child was living with Delgado-Ramirez who had custody, although he was the natural child of Lopez.
We've blogged about multilingual legal website translation services and the importance of using professional legal translators and legal interpreters in corporate matters. Any business that does business online - or even merely has a website - must understand the unique liabilities that arise and, more importantly, how to protect themselves. For example, due to the ever-increasing threat of identity theft, every company's website must provide visitors with notification on how their private information will be used, who has access to it and why. If such a Privacy Policy is not included, not only do you risk turning away potential customers, but also open the door to potential litigation.
We've blogged about multilingual legal translation and patent translation services based on a First to Invent system approach (as different from the EU's First to File approach). In the recent Supreme Court case Staford v. Roche, the issue of what kind of title, if any, a pre-invention contract creates. According to one justice, a pre-invention contract creates an equitable title in the invention that does not automatically transfer to a patent right. A typical situation would go along these lines: When joining a company a new employee will assign all rights to future inventions. Although at this point the employee doesn't have future inventions or a right to assign, when the language is drafted correctly a court will order that rights to any future invention automatically transfers to the employer at the point of invention.
We've blogged about professional legal interpreting, legal translation services and multilingual translations in the context of patent infringement actions. Suppose that Company A and Company B compete in manufacturing similar products, and both hold patents that cover specific aspects of this product. Although the aspects are different, they are quite similar and thus lead to patent litigation. Although both companies hold legitimate patents, in the claim and counterclaim both claimed patent infringement.
Continue reading "Legal Language Translation and the Competing Patent Debate" »
We've blogged about professional legal interpreting and legal translation services in the process of administration of overseas trusts. It is a common scenario where two non-citizen who are U.S. residents move to the US for work and have children - who are natural-born U.S. citizens. The key for an estate planning attorney in such situations is to clearly understand what the clients want for their children and their assets - both in the U.S. and, perhaps, abroad. This is essential because, regardless of foreign language abilities, true intent can get lost in legal terminology that is not properly translated, foreign laws and cultural differences.
We've blogged about health care interpreters translation services and professional medical translation services for Colorado health clinics, hospitals and doctors' offices. With the development of new technology new legal issues come up. For example, take the issue of pre-embryos - are they property, a person or something completely new? It takes a man's sperm and a woman's egg to produce an embrio. Although property law cannot be applied across the board in such a situation, it's a good starting point for addressing such issues as decision making, ownership, etc.
July 29, 2011 Multil Language Legal Translation Services for Law Firms, Interpretation of 'Of', 'In' and Jurisdiction We've blogged about multilingual contract translation services in the context of putting the agreement in...
July 28, 2011 Certified Multilingual Translations for Court Filing The universal confusion between translators and interpreters comes to light when members of legal profession...
July 27, 2011 Legal Document Translation, Foreign Jurisdictions and International Debt Collection We've blogged about professional legal and corporate translation and interpretation services in the context of...
July 26, 2011 Certified Legal Translation Services, Copyright Law and the First Sale Doctrine Certified legal translation services and legal interpretation services by court-certified interpreters play an important role...
July 22, 2011 Legal Translators and Court Interpreters- What Attorneys Need to Know about the Differences between Them Although case law, courts and the general public tend to use the terms "translator" and...
July 21, 2011 Legal Translators and Legal Interpreters for Attorneys, Knowledge and Patent Infringement We've blogged about intellectual property translation and legal translation and court interpreting services in the...
