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Poll: How many non-disclosure agreements have you signed in your career?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 18:03
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I have refused to sign several Apr 22, 2017

Michael Harris wrote:
Why would you efuse to sign one?


Agreements are, by definition, two-sided instruments. Both parties must agree with the conditions and be able to discuss them ans suggest an alternative.

For example, a very common clause in NDAs is that you must destroy all documents after delivery and approval. I always change that clause to after the full payment of the job, which is so obvious. Most clients agree with that change. If they don't, there will be no agreement.

Another very common clause is that you are not allowed to make contact directly with any client of the agency. Then further down, another clause says the provisions of the agreement shall subsist for X years or forever. I always change the "direct contact" clause to "during the term of effectiveness hereof", because I can surely make contact and be hired by any client some time after the agreement is terminated. No agency can forbid me to contact or negotiate with any client if I no longer have a contract in force with them.

This kind of clause has to be negotiable. When the agency says "I'm sorry, these clauses are not changeable", my reply is always "I'm sorry but I do not sign one-sided agreements".
 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 18:03
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
Sometimes it leads to an impasse Apr 22, 2017

Mario Freitas wrote:

When the agency says "I'm sorry, these clauses are not changeable", my reply is always "I'm sorry but I do not sign one-sided agreements".


One of the largest translation agencies around once sent me their lengthy paperwork, NDA, vendor agreement, etc. They wanted that thick sheaf of papers printed out and snail-mailed to their NYC office.

I did it, and one month later it was returned by mail. The agency is probably so large (and so messy) that they couldn't find that PM (the addressee) there. He insisted with me to resend it, but IMO they had wasted their chance (they are known as not among the best payers).

A couple of years later, another PM from them contacted me with the same request. She was so strikingly pleasant - even by e-mail - that I decided to oblige. However she said it was because she had a large volume of sworn translations for Brazil.

Well, I am a licensed sworn translator in Brazil, where such activity is regulated by law. So I read their papers carefully, and found nineteen (19) items that represented infringements to that specific Brazilian law. I sent her a three-page report on these, and she relayed it to their legal department for analysis. And yes, those brave lawyers are still analyzing it... since December 2008!
 
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Poll: How many non-disclosure agreements have you signed in your career?






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