Professional legal translation and language interpreter services are indispensable in the process of taking a franchise overseas. This process usually starts with a third party expressing interest in bringing your idea to another country. However, before shipping your business overseas, there are numerous issues that must be considered. And language translation is one of the most important ones.
- Modify Existing Documents: When taking a franchise overseas, one needs to modify the U.S. franchise documents for use in the foreign country. Depending on the filing rules of the foreign country, this will often require a professional foreign language translation.
- Business Structure: One of the first things you need to determine is the type of business relationship you will have with the third party in a foreign land. This should be a part of your franchising contract. Further, you must ensure the contract and business structure are legal in the foreign country. To guarantee all clauses are valid, a foreign language interpreter should be present during negotiations.
- Intellectual Property: Before agreeing to an international franchise, one must take steps to protect one’s intellectual property in the foreign country. Since U.S. trademark registrations often do not expand across seas, you should obtain an international trademark. To do this, you will need a foreign language translation of all documents.
- Due Diligence: A due diligence investigation ensures the potential foreign business partner complies with such U.S. laws, as the Patriot Act. Since much of the evidence will likely be in a foreign language, a foreign language translation is essential.
To read our legal translation blog post “Professional Translation Services, Legal Translations and International Franchise Mediation”, click here. And to read our legal translation blog entry “Legal Translation, Professional Language Translation Services, Your Trademark and China”, click here.