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Blue Board entries and How far to go in signing non-disclosure agreements
Thread poster: dnitzpon
dnitzpon
dnitzpon
Germany
Local time: 17:48
Dutch to German
+ ...
Jan 17, 2005

Hi! An agency which does not have any blue board entries sent me a proposed non-disclose agreement containing provisions to 'take due care' that the e-mail i send to them will not be intercepted by third parties and that my anti-virus software is functioning and continually updated. All of that on penaly that 'ANY CAUSE of data leaks' (my emphasis) can result in a 1.500,- euro penalty for me.

On the one hand I see that they have little chance of proving bad will in data leaks on the... See more
Hi! An agency which does not have any blue board entries sent me a proposed non-disclose agreement containing provisions to 'take due care' that the e-mail i send to them will not be intercepted by third parties and that my anti-virus software is functioning and continually updated. All of that on penaly that 'ANY CAUSE of data leaks' (my emphasis) can result in a 1.500,- euro penalty for me.

On the one hand I see that they have little chance of proving bad will in data leaks on the other, in times of echelon, how could i possibly guarantee non-interception? By defining me responsile for any cause, they could even pass it on themselves, pay a 1.000 euro penalty and still make money out of nothing. now there are two points to think about:

1. are these provisions 'usual'? i never encountered them before, but i haven't signed hundereds of contracts either (maybe it has to be said for legal & cultural differences that the agency is located in eastern europe)

2. i would tend to let signing depend on the experences of others with that company. if they are fair to their translators in general, i guess they won't abuse the provisions either. but since they don't have a blue board entry, where can i search to find that out? any suggestions which fora to look through except for proz.com? a google-search didn't deliver much..

thankx, daniel ▲ Collapse
 
Ines Burrell
Ines Burrell  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:48
Member (2004)
English to Latvian
+ ...
Keep away Jan 17, 2005

My advice (as most others will be, I am sure) is to keep away from this company and its contracts. I have refused to sign quite a few contracts but I have never yet seen a clause like this. There is no way you can ensure nobody intercepts your mail even if it is technically very difficult to do. You can ensure you do not disclose the info, that is fair enough. But to guarantee someting that you have no power over, well... It is not reasonable and you can only ask yourself what reasons the agenc... See more
My advice (as most others will be, I am sure) is to keep away from this company and its contracts. I have refused to sign quite a few contracts but I have never yet seen a clause like this. There is no way you can ensure nobody intercepts your mail even if it is technically very difficult to do. You can ensure you do not disclose the info, that is fair enough. But to guarantee someting that you have no power over, well... It is not reasonable and you can only ask yourself what reasons the agency has for drawing up such a ridiculous contract.
Always remember - if you are not comfortable with anything at all in the contract, cross out the section, sign and send to the agency. If they do not accept a contract with your corrections, forget about them.

Cheers,
Burrell ▲ Collapse
 
Klaus Herrmann
Klaus Herrmann  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 17:48
Member (2002)
English to German
+ ...
Can't be done. Jan 17, 2005

dnitzpon wrote:
...'take due care' that the e-mail i send to them will not be intercepted by third parties


Have them look up the terms Echelon NSA intercept in Google. There's no way you can guarantee that email won't be intercepted. Offering to encrypt the email is as close as you'll get to the inteded purpose of this clause.
 
Parrot
Parrot  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 17:48
Spanish to English
+ ...
Ask politely for a clarification Jan 18, 2005

Maybe they don't see what the clause implies. Even anonymous servers like Hotmail are obliged to keep back-ups for five years that may be opened by a court order that could come from any country by diplomatic pouch.
 


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Blue Board entries and How far to go in signing non-disclosure agreements







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