Legal translation services can broadly be divided into the following categories:

1. Contract translation

Anyone who is familiar with the law will surely know that contracts form one of the foundations of any legal system.

As such, the translation of written contracts from one language to another forms the majority of legal document translation work in many countries.

If someone wants to present a contract to the Singapore courts to fight a case, and the contract is not written in English, then he would typically need to translate the said contract into English for court purposes.

Perhaps to state the obvious, contracts need to be translated clearly and accurately.

There is no room for errors or ambiguity.

Nuances must be accounted for, or there may be serious legal consequences if there are disparities between the original source text and the translated documents.

Thus, the legal translator must not only possess professional translation skills, but also the requisite legal knowledge, especially related familiarity with contract law.

2. Terms and Conditions

Most people are not conversant with legal language, so even when terms and conditions are written in their native language, they have difficulty in comprehending the legalese.

Imagine the compounding in difficulty when the content has to be translated to another language.

Even though most people do not like to read and just skim over them, the terms and conditions apply to and legally bind consumers, service and product providers, and all involved.

Terms and conditions will normally contain information regarding disclaimers, products and services, business policies, consumer rights and responsibilities, deadlines and limitations, etc.

In fact, the length of many terms and conditions can even be longer than the actual advertisement, especially in brochures for financial products!

Big businesses often face numerous customers and the products and services concerned may amount to considerable sums, and thus it is not difficult to imagine a disgruntled customer complaining or even taking some form of legal action.

Therefore, as a product or service provider, you do need to ensure that your terms and conditions fully cover your liabilities and thus consistency and accuracy between the source text and the translated documents are of paramount importance.

3. Legal Market Research

Even though the world is becoming increasingly globalised, one interesting trend that has emerged is that unique regulations for each region and area have become more pronounced.

If you intend to promote your products and services to a region, you are expected to have related intimate knowledge, particularly legal knowledge.

Financial clauses, product warranties, refund policies, safety regulations and limitations on product claims all need to be complied with and thus you do need someone to give you legal support for translated documents.

Advertisements, product brochures, manuals, etc all need to adhere to local laws and regulations.

Thus, everyone involved must have access to the legal information and guidelines that have been translated into his native language.

By providing legal translation services that encompass all the legal aspects of the said region, key decisions on how products and services are to be introduced, marketing activities, logistical support and the like can be made wisely and prudently.

4. Privacy Policy

This area can often be found in a reputable company website and the policy is drafted by the organisation legal team or representatives.

By definition, a privacy policy is a statement or legal document that discloses some or all of the ways a party gathers, uses, discloses, and manages a customer or client’s data.

In the case of a business, it is often a statement that declares a party’s policy on how it collects, stores, and releases personal information it collects.

On the other hand, it also informs the client what specific information is collected, and whether it is kept confidential, shared with partners etc.

Privacy policies typically represent a broader, more generalized treatment, as opposed to data use statements, which tend to be more detailed and specific.

5. Intellectual Property

Finally, a common kind of legal translation is Intellectual Property translation. What is Intellectual Property?

As defined by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.

As you can imagine, Intellectual Property is protected by the laws of most countries and they enable the inventors and creators to earn financial benefits and recognition for their work.

Intellectual Property often come in the form of patents, copyrights and trademarks, but there are many other forms.

Let us use patent translation to illustrate.

Essentially, patents just give the patent owner an exclusive right on the product granted by the state.

If you create a product and have a patent on it, that means that only you can use the product legally.

This is to prevent someone else from stealing or copying your product and using or selling it as his own.

If someone else takes this illegal action, then patents give you the legal background and backup to sue for damages and compensation.

As you can see, patent translations protect the inventors and their importance cannot be over-emphasised.

Thus accuracy, completeness and clarity are an absolute must in the translation.

Only a professional and experienced patent translator will possess the necessary expertise to do a competent job.