14
Legal Language 101

14.1 Introduction

When considering “law and the legal world,” some may tend to think in terms of a court process with a judge, lawyer and jury, justice, a crime committed, the punishment meted out to the guilty person or culprit (criminal), etc.

However, this chapter will focus more on practical applications for laboratory personnel such as:

  • legal language, its terminology with translations
  • analyze a “typical” contract and warranty.

14.2 Reviewing a Typical Contract, Which Concerns Two Parties

A ‘typical’ contract (names, addresses are fictitious)

  • Party 1 – Client Z, a non-EU chemical processor requiring EU REACH compliance.
  • Party 2 – XY OR, the REACH “Only Responsible,” who will represent the client's regulatory affairs interests within the EU.
Typical Contract – Regulatory Framework of Scope and Cooperation Contents:
Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH) – Only Representative for a non-EU
Community Manufacturer
1) Incentive: To fulfill the obligations of the Client's importers into the European Union
according to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006
(REACH) with XY OR taking the role of ‘Only Representative’
2) Objectives: XY OR/Client Z Time frame
(i) Clarifications on implementation and responsibilities XY OR + Client Z May–June 2009
(ii) Client Z supplies Substance Inventory (SI) XY + Z 2009–2018
(iii) Interaction with client's EU customers
a. OR tonnage documentation XY + Z 2009–2018
b. REACH implementation information
(iv) Interaction/documentation of client's non-EU customers
a. OR tonnage documentation XY + Z 2009–2018
b. REACH implementation information
(v) Interaction with client's raw material suppliers on registration status XY + Z 2008–2018
(vi) SIEF implementation processes XY Jan'09 > ongoing
3. Fees and Payment Conditions:
(i) Hourly fee based on long-term assignment.
(ii) Rate: Euro XXX/work hour; VAT, travel costs, and materials are not included.
Compensation will be adjusted in January of each new year according to the inflation
rate.
(iv) A down payment is applicable for starting the project, and will be deducted from the
last payment of the project.
(v) Payment phases are at each end of a calendar month upon submission of an invoice
to the client.
4. Cooperation parameters:
(i) The Client Z's Substance Inventory (SI) is the mechanism for collecting and managing
all information on Client Z's products with obligations for REACH. The OR is the
primary manager of the SI, and other Client Z's staff members may be granted access
to the SI for introducing new information on products.
(ii) The client informs about the importer(s) and tonnages sold to, the suppliers of raw
materials and their registration status of raw materials, Client Z's customers
importing substances and the products supplied by the Client into the EU, and about
these products and the quantities of these products imported into Europe.
(iii) The client provides all information on the products and substances contained in the
products, which is necessary to comply with the regulatory framework.
(iv) All documentation will be prepared within the requirements of the regulatory
framework.
(v) All rights on documentation prepared or purchased within the scope of this
cooperation remains with the client.
(vi) Participation in the REACH Substance Information Exchange Fora (SIEF) is
requested for each substance with registration.
(vii) All fees and expenses related to product compliance with the regulatory framework
of scope (ECHA, product, and ingredient testing, SIEF, and Consortia participation,
etc.) will be paid by the client.
(viii) This Contract's parts 1–4 and its articles shall be governed by and construed and
enforced in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, without
regard to principles of conflicts of law.
5. Indemnity Clause:
Client Z agrees to indemnify and hold harmless XY OR and its affiliates, and each of their
respective directors, officers, agents, and employees (XY OR and each such entity or
person being referred to as an “Indemnified Person”), from and against any losses, claims,
demands, damages, or liabilities of any kind (collectively, “Liabilities”) relating to or
arising out of activities performed or services furnished pursuant to the Agreement
In witness whereof, the parties have respectively signed and sealed this cooperation
contract the day and year below written
__________________________ ________________
Signature: SLH, XY OR, President Date – Location
_________________________ _________________
Signature: HLS, Client Z, President Date – Location

QUIZ YOURSELF: True or False questions on the above contract (circle the correct choice)

  1. To perform their job correctly as a REACH OR, XY OR is obliged to divulge all chemical product information (substances) to the Client Z. T or F
  2. Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 REACH is a US-FDA regulation. T or F
  3. The client resides outside of the EU. T or F
  4. Cooperation Parameters' refers to Rahmenbedingungen für die Zusammenarbeit. T or F
  5. A down payment is made at the end of the project. T or F
  6. Compensation refers to Client Z's fee. T or F
  7. Liability Clause = Schadensersatzklausel, Freistellungsklausel. T or F
  8. Schadensersatzklausel, Freistellungsklausel = Indemnity Clause. T or F
  9. The “Objectives” of the contract clearly define XY OR and Client Z's responsibilities and in specific time frames. T or F
  10. Both signatures from XY OR and Client Z's will go after this contract's statement; “In witness whereof, the parties have respectively signed and sealed this cooperation contract the day and year below written.” T or F

14.3 Preparing for the Visit of an English-speaking Technical Representative

Before meeting an English-speaking technical representative, consider the following:

What instrumentation or equipment do you possess in your laboratory? Do you possess an HPLC, a laptop computer, electrophoresis equipment, an exhaust hood in your lab, and so on?

The questions raised above were to get you thinking about how to express yourself properly with an English-speaking technical sales representative, which we will explore below.

So, what do you do if the equipment or instrumentation is broken (defekt) or inoperable? Most likely, you would call a technical sales representative from the company you or the company purchased the product from. However, what happens if the technical sales representative comes from the United Kingdom, a Benelux nation, Poland, China, Singapore, or Canada and can only speak English with you. What will you do? This section will provide you with the basics. First, let's start off with some basic terminology.

QUIZ YOURSELFTranslate these words into English:

  • Muttern
  • Bolzen
  • Schrauben
  • Nägel
image

(© saxstuff – fotolia.com.)

Practical expressions to use with an English-speaking technical representative (company names, people, addresses are ficticious)

When you need to find out when your instrument will be finally repaired and delivered, expressions such as the following can be helpful:

14.4 Analyzing and Understanding a Warranty's Terms and Conditions (Geschäftsbedingungen)

14.4.1 Reading Comprehension Based on an Actual Warranty

Let's take an in-depth look at a real warranty. The following warranty is from Kohler Co., a well respected producer of water faucets for home, residential and/or commercial use. First read the warranty, and then answer the questions that are related to the Kohler warranty.

image

QUIZ YOURSELF: Reading Comprehension Test Based on the Actual Warranty

In the space provided, answer the following questions

  1. From the date of installation, what Kohler products are guaranteed by the warranty?_____________________
  2. The warranty is valid for how long? (hint: is it in months? years?)___________
  3. The warranty is valid in which three nations?_____________________
  4. What is required to prove a warranty?______________________________
  5. By chance, if the Kohler product is installed outside of N. America, and it fails (becomes defective), what then does the warranty stipulate?____________________________________________________________
  6. What is a replacement part?_________________________________
  7. What is liability?_____________________________________________
  8. Last question, but may be a bit tougher to answer…Pretend (vorgeben) if the following occurs: If Kohler Co. didn't have a subsidiary (Niederlassung, Nebenstelle) in Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, etc.), but their product was sold to your firm in Europe with a legitimate warranty, what options do you have to get customer service or repairs made on the instruments?__________________________________________________