| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Strange NDA - advice needed Thread poster: Sarah McDowell
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Sarah McDowell 
Canada
Local time: 09:23
Member (2012)
Russian to English
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A potential client has contacted me about the translation of a book. They said that I must sign their NDA before they can tell me more information about the book and to actually see the book. But the NDA is quite strange and very vague. There is no address, telephone number, company registration number, date, validity period, or name of any person on it.
The other thing that's strange is that 3 different project managers have written to me from the same address in the past 3 days. T... See more A potential client has contacted me about the translation of a book. They said that I must sign their NDA before they can tell me more information about the book and to actually see the book. But the NDA is quite strange and very vague. There is no address, telephone number, company registration number, date, validity period, or name of any person on it.
The other thing that's strange is that 3 different project managers have written to me from the same address in the past 3 days. This seems quite strange to me as usually project managers have their own e-mail addresses.
The other thing that's strange is the NDA says it's in accordance with English law and at the exclusive jurisdiction of English courts. But they are contacting me from Moscow. However, according to the company's website, their head office is in New Jersey. So why would they specify English law if they are not even in England and have no offices there?
I have seen many NDAs before, and they usually all have the company's address, telephone number, registration number, and person in charge listed.
The whole thing seems very strange, and a bit suspicious. Can anyone with more legal experience please give me some advice?
[Edited at 2021-12-12 17:32 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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| That's odd, but might just be non-nefarious idiocy | Dec 12, 2021 |
Chances are they plagiarized the NDA from somewhere and don't really understand what it is.
Ultimately, the big question is whether you can come up with any situation where they can possibly try to sue you or otherwise demand compensation for something.
If there's no possible liability, then it's just some random NDA they stole somewhere and removed the original author's info from because the boss told them they need to get an NDA and they don't really know what that is... See more Chances are they plagiarized the NDA from somewhere and don't really understand what it is.
Ultimately, the big question is whether you can come up with any situation where they can possibly try to sue you or otherwise demand compensation for something.
If there's no possible liability, then it's just some random NDA they stole somewhere and removed the original author's info from because the boss told them they need to get an NDA and they don't really know what that is or does.
[Edited at 2021-12-12 19:40 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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You can’t be bound by a NDA which does not have any customer data… As far as I know NDAs may be customized to any degree but there are five items that are considered essential:
1. The names of the parties to the agreement;
2. A definition of what constitutes confidential information;
3. Any exclusions from confidentiality;
4. The time periods involved;
5. (…)
| | | | Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 10:23
Romanian to English
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| Are you sure it is not a scam to get your personal info? | Dec 13, 2021 |
Call their NJ office and check.
Stay safe,
Lee
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Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 10:23
Japanese to English
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In the past I have had prospective clients tell me that I must sign an NDA before I could see the document. Why would anyone sign an NDA for a document that they know nothing about?!
| | | | Sarah McDowell
Canada
Local time: 09:23
Member (2012)
Russian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Looks like a CV scam | Dec 13, 2021 |
Now they are not asking about the NDA but instead asking me to send my full CV (which I won't do, of course). However, they said that when they first contacted me they liked my CV, thus contradicting themselves.
It's also very strange that they have different PMs using the same e-mail address to contact me. Usually the e-mail addresses of project managers are similar to the following format: firstname.lastname@agency's ... See more Now they are not asking about the NDA but instead asking me to send my full CV (which I won't do, of course). However, they said that when they first contacted me they liked my CV, thus contradicting themselves.
It's also very strange that they have different PMs using the same e-mail address to contact me. Usually the e-mail addresses of project managers are similar to the following format: firstname.lastname@agency's domain.com ▲ Collapse
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Did you look up their IP address and to what country it does belong? Or is it just a gmail domain?
[Bearbeitet am 2021-12-13 10:44 GMT]
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: Empty post |
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Sarah McDowell
Canada
Local time: 09:23
Member (2012)
Russian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | IP address or domain name? | Dec 13, 2021 |
Do you mean their domain name? No, they don't use g-mail.
Can you please advise me the best websites to use to look up info on the domain name? The website I usually use for this produced no specific results for them.
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: Unedited since two days | Sarah McDowell
Canada
Local time: 09:23
Member (2012)
Russian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | they want to redact my CV | Dec 13, 2021 |
They even admitted in their own words that they want to redact my CV. This seems like an identity theft scam.
"if you could send us your full CV, as we will have to present it to our requester so that they can familiarize themselves with all of your experience gathered in one document (of course all the personal information will be deleted beforehand)."
They first wrote to me saying that they had already seen my CV on ProZ (I don't have it uploaded), then today they are... See more They even admitted in their own words that they want to redact my CV. This seems like an identity theft scam.
"if you could send us your full CV, as we will have to present it to our requester so that they can familiarize themselves with all of your experience gathered in one document (of course all the personal information will be deleted beforehand)."
They first wrote to me saying that they had already seen my CV on ProZ (I don't have it uploaded), then today they are asking for it again. So their different PMs are contradicting themselves.
The other thing that's strange is that there is nothing on their website about literary translation at all. So it's strange why they have a request to publish a book when their focus is on technical and business translation.
[Edited at 2021-12-13 13:11 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 16:23
French to English
Sarah McDowell wrote:
They even admitted in their own words that they want to redact my CV. This seems like an identity theft scam.
They first wrote to me saying that they had already seen my CV on ProZ (I don't have it uploaded), then today they are asking for it again. So their different PMs are contradicting themselves.
The other thing that's strange is that there is nothing on their website about literary translation at all. So it's strange why they have a request to publish a book when their focus is on technical and business translation.
[Edited at 2021-12-13 13:11 GMT]
For the fact that they don't mention literary translation, that's not a red flag for me. At the agency where I worked, we translated several books, but there wasn't enough to make it worth mentioning. As a freelancer, I have worked on books too, but I don't specify because again, it's just a couple of projects, not something I've done enough of to be able to boast about it. None of the books would count as literature either, they were all books with a professional focus.
However the contradictions seem to imply to me that they're just culling any contact info they can get from the Proz directory and contacting you without bothering to check what you actually put on your profile. They haven't made a long and detailed search for the exact right translator, or even a handful of probably suitable translators to send tests to. I would probably write back saying I'm not interested (without specifying why, because then they might come up with a bullshit answer as to why your reason isn't valid).
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Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 08:23
Dutch to English
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Sarah, follow your best instincts: it's a scam. You know: if it talks like a duck....
Add it all up: a) they contact you via different PMs, b) their email addresses look strange, c) they seem to have no experience with your specialization, d) they plan to 'redact' your CV, e) they have a sloppy NDA, and f) you have already done some research and none of it was reassuring. Any one of these things alone might have a reasonable explanation but altogether they smell fishy.
... See more Sarah, follow your best instincts: it's a scam. You know: if it talks like a duck....
Add it all up: a) they contact you via different PMs, b) their email addresses look strange, c) they seem to have no experience with your specialization, d) they plan to 'redact' your CV, e) they have a sloppy NDA, and f) you have already done some research and none of it was reassuring. Any one of these things alone might have a reasonable explanation but altogether they smell fishy.
Even if it's not a scam, it doesn't look like a company that you should jump into such a large project with sight unseen. If is was me, I would politely decline.
[Edited at 2021-12-13 16:00 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
| And they probably don't HAVE the project anyway | Dec 13, 2021 |
At best, they might be attempting to bid on a project representing you as "their" translator... which later may or may NOT be offered to you after taking a fat cut
| | | | Sarah McDowell
Canada
Local time: 09:23
Member (2012)
Russian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | it's a translation of fiction | Dec 13, 2021 |
Kay Denney wrote:
At the agency where I worked, we translated several books, but there wasn't enough to make it worth mentioning. As a freelancer, I have worked on books too, but I don't specify because again, it's just a couple of projects, not something I've done enough of to be able to boast about it. None of the books would count as literature either, they were all books with a professional focus.
Hi Kay,
Thanks for your input on this matter. Actually, they specifically told me that the book was fiction, not a book related to one of their areas of specialization. That's why it's strange that there's nothing about literary translation on their agency website.
| | | | | Pages in topic: [1 2] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Strange NDA - advice needed | Anycount & Translation Office 3000 | Translation Office 3000
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