Terms and Conditions

As of February 2024

§ 1 General

lingoking GmbH, Gotzinger Straße 19, 81371 Munich, Germany, registered in the Commercial Register of the Local Court of Munich under HRB 187235 (hereinafter "lingoking") offers its customers the opportunity to place and manage orders for language services, i.e. translation services (hereinafter collectively "lingoking services"), via the website operated by lingoking, www.lingoking.com (hereinafter "lingoking portal"), for example, and for the translators commissioned by lingoking (hereinafter collectively "professionals", insofar as no distinction is required) to accept and manage such orders. The conclusion and processing of the respective contractual relationship for a lingoking service takes place between the customer and lingoking or the professional and lingoking using the lingoking portal.

These General Terms and Conditions of Business and Use for Customers (hereinafter "GTC Customer") govern the conditions under which lingoking services can be used by customers. These GTC Customer apply exclusively to all customers, even if the use or access takes place from outside the Federal Republic of Germany.

lingoking is entitled to make changes to these GTC Customer. lingoking will only make changes for valid reasons, in particular due to new technical developments, changes in jurisprudence or other equivalent reasons. If the amendment adversely affects the contractual balance between the parties to a significant extent, the amendment shall not be made. In other respects, changes require the consent of the customer. lingoking undertakes to specifically inform the customers in the information about the changes, about the options for objection and termination, the deadline and the legal consequences, especially with regard to a failure to object. Changes to these GTC Customer are deemed agreed unless the customer objects to the amendment or terminates the contract within one month of receipt of the notice of amendment. In the event that the customer objects to a change in these GTC Customer, lingoking has the right to extraordinary termination of the business relationship.

§ 2 Registration

Depending on the service, it may be possible or necessary for the customer to register on the lingoking website. In this case, the customer is obliged to fill in the fields provided in the registration form truthfully and correctly. After successful registration, the customer receives a user account. Should the collected data change at a point after registration, the customer must update the information in the user account without delay.

When registering, the customer specifies a username and password for access to the lingoking portal (hereinafter "access data"). Usernames whose use infringes the rights of third parties, in particular trademark rights or rights to a name, are not permitted. Illegal usernames or usernames that offend common decency are also inadmissible.

The customer must keep the access data secret and protect it from access by unauthorised third parties. If the customer loses their access data or discovers or suspects that their access data is being used by a third party, they must inform lingoking immediately. lingoking assumes no liability for damages caused by access data that has fallen into the hands of third parties. lingoking will never ask the customer for their password.

By submitting the data in the registration form, the customer makes an offer to lingoking to conclude a contract of use for the lingoking portal. lingoking reserves the right to refuse the customer's registration without giving reasons. As soon as lingoking accepts the customer's offer to register, the customer receives a confirmation e-mail with the registration data and an activation link. Upon receipt of this confirmation email, the contract of use for the lingoking portal is concluded between lingoking and the customer.

Only customers with full legal capacity are entitled to use the service.

§ 3 Responsibility and prohibited content

The lingoking portal may only be used for legally permitted purposes. In particular, lingoking services and the lingoking portal may not be used to disseminate defamatory, pornographic or otherwise unlawful material, to threaten or harass others or to infringe the rights (including the personal rights) of others.

The use of the service in a way that adversely affects the availability of the database or other service of lingoking for other users is also prohibited. Users are responsible for ensuring that the content they post is free of viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other programs that could endanger or impair the functionality or existence of lingoking or the users' websites.

Contact details may only be exchanged via the lingoking portal to the extent that they are necessary for the successful processing of a lingoking service.

Publishing content of the following type on or via the lingoking portal is prohibited:

• Offensive content of any kind, especially name discrimination or defamation (personal insults) of other users (or their content), lingoking or its partners
• Contributions that are libellous or defamatory towards other users, lingoking or its partners
• Public provocation for the deletion of content, comments or users
• Quotes from private emails/messages from other users, lingoking or their partners (= violation of postal secrecy)
• Advertising for competing websites
• Self-promotion, e.g. for own services
• Direct contact details (e.g. e-mail address or telephone number), unless they are absolutely necessary for the concrete execution of the assignment (e.g. in the case of interpreting assignments for on-site coordination)
• Pursuit of commercial interests, political or ideological objectives (in particular using symbols or signs, but also signature campaigns, calls for expressions of opinion, meetings, etc.).

In the context of the means of communication (e.g. e-mail), spam is also prohibited; this includes, in particular, all messages that can be assumed to be unwanted by the recipient.

lingoking is entitled to refuse the posting of, to modify, to block or to remove content, posts and other information which violate these GTC Customer. Customers have no claim against lingoking for the admission or utilisation of the content, entries or other information, the lifting of a block or the reinstatement of content, entries or other information that has already been removed.

In the event of violations, lingoking has the right to block the entire user account or only parts thereof with immediate effect. The blocked customer is prohibited from registering again under another user account or using the lingoking portal in any other way. lingoking reserves the right to initiate criminal proceedings and/or assert claims (in particular claims for damages) against the customer.

§ 4 Scope of services

lingoking undertakes to provide the lingoking services requested by the customer in a proper and professional manner. lingoking is entitled to use suitable and verified specialists for the provision of the lingoking services. The customer has no claim to the use of a particular professional. Contacts between customers and professionals require the consent of lingoking. Translations are carried out in accordance with the literal and/or implied meaning of the original statement and according to the average, general principles of proper practice of the respective industry and the respective language area.

Individual specialist terminology used at the customer's premises can be taken into account after appropriate agreement and upon submission of sufficient and complete documentation, e.g. pre-translations or word lists. This must be made available to the professional before the start of each assignment. The exact process varies depending on the service and must be discussed with lingoking in good time before implementation begins. Technical terms are otherwise translated in accordance with the quality standards as set out in Para. 1.

The professional carrying out the order can reject or cancel the execution of the order if punishable or unlawful content is communicated, content offends common decency, the content exceeds the qualification of the professionals available to lingoking (medium standard) in its complexity or if the execution is unreasonable for the professional in the presence of other particular circumstances.

§ 5 Conclusion of the contract

The customer can make use of the lingoking services by requesting the execution of an translation order ("order") via the lingoking portal, by telephone or by e-mail. Routinely, lingoking will then provide an offer based on a time-limited price calculation transmitted by lingoking to the customer via the lingoking portal. The contract is concluded when the customer confirms the offer online on the lingoking portal, by e-mail or by telephone. Notwithstanding this, lingoking is entitled to subsequently withdraw from the contract if one of the reasons for rejecting the order stated in the regulation according to Section 4 para. 4 applies. In the event of rejection, there shall be no claims for compensation between the parties.

The contract conclusion procedure is managed by the lingoking portal.

Unless otherwise regulated, price calculations by lingoking are always subject to change and non-binding. lingoking may make the conclusion of the contract dependent on written proof of proper authorisation or an advance payment. The text of the contract will be saved by lingoking after the conclusion of the contract and sent to the customer by e-mail upon request.

Should a customer withdraw from the contract prior to the execution of an translation assignment, the following regulations shall apply:

• The customer may withdraw from the contract at any time before the order is carried out by means of a written declaration.
• If the customer withdraws from the contract, lingoking can demand reasonable compensation for the expenses incurred. This cancellation compensation is determined in the form of a cancellation lump sum according to the following percentages of the contractually agreed price for all individual services ordered: a. in the event of cancellation up to 14 days before the contractually agreed date of completion of the order, 25 % (of the contractually agreed price for all individual services ordered), b. in the event of cancellation from 14 days to 7 days before the contractually agreed date of completion of the order, 50 % (of the contractually agreed price for all individual services ordered), c. in the event of cancellation 7 days or fewer before the contractually agreed date of completion of the order, 100 % (of the contractually agreed price for all individual services ordered).

The customer is free to prove that lingoking has not suffered any damage or that the damage incurred by lingoking is less than the requested compensation lump sum.

The regulation on the right of withdrawal remains unaffected by this.

§ 6 Acceptance, obligation to give notice of defects and warranty

In principle, the statutory liability for defects shall apply. Obvious defects in the service received (translations) must be reported in text form immediately after their performance or receipt, stating the defects (obligation to report defects). If lingoking does not receive a notice of defects within a 14-day period, the service is deemed accepted (Section 640 BGB [German Civil Code]). Warranty claims of the non-merchant customer shall remain unaffected by the above provisions.

If a translation deviates from the contractual requirements, the customer must set lingoking a reasonable deadline of at least 14 days for rectification. Rectification is excluded if the deviations have been caused by the customer itself, e.g. by incorrect or incomplete information or faulty original texts.

After the expiry of the set deadline, the customer may demand the rescission of the contract or the reduction of the remuneration (price reduction) if the defect has not been remedied in time. Claims are excluded if the deviation only insignificantly reduces the value or suitability of the translation.

§ 7 Liability

lingoking is liable without limitation in the event of injury to life, body or health. In the event of a breach of material contractual obligations, lingoking is also liable for slight negligence, but then limited to the typical, foreseeable damage. Material contractual obligations are contractual obligations, the fulfilment of which is a prerequisite for the proper performance of the contract and the observance of which the customer normally relies on and may rely on. Typical, foreseeable damages are those which are subject to the protective purpose of the respective contractual or statutory norm violated. Otherwise, lingoking is not liable for slight negligence. The above limitations of liability also apply to the organs and vicarious agents of lingoking.

Unless expressly agreed in text form, lingoking assumes no warranty that the respective service is permissible or suitable for the customer's intended use.

§ 8 Remuneration and terms of payment

Unless otherwise contractually agreed, lingoking will invoice the customer for the agreed lingoking services at the conditions agreed when the order was placed plus the applicable statutory value-added tax. The customer can only make payments with debt-discharging effect in euros within the framework of the payment procedures provided by lingoking.

§ 9 Non-solicitation

The customer undertakes not to entice away any interpreters or translators working for lingoking and/or to employ them without lingoking's consent for the duration of the contractual relationship and for a period of one year thereafter. For each case of culpable infringement, the customer undertakes to pay lingoking a contractual penalty of EUR 5,001.00.

§ 10 Dispute Resolution

The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution (OS), which you can find here: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/ We are not obliged or willing to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board.

§ 11 Final provisions

Orders addressed to lingoking that are not covered by the scope of services pursuant to Section 4 are not subject to these Terms and Conditions. The conditions for such services shall be agreed separately.

If the parties have agreed on written form, this is also fulfilled by e-mail and fax.

These Terms and Conditions as well as contracts concluded on the basis of these Terms and Conditions shall be governed exclusively by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the conflict of laws rules. In the case of orders placed by consumers from abroad, mandatory regulations or the consumer protection granted by judicial law of the respective country of residence shall remain in force and shall apply accordingly

For customers who are merchants, legal entities under public law or special funds under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction is Munich. lingoking is, however, also entitled to take legal action at the customer's place of business.

In case of ambiguity, the German version always applies.

THE FOLLOWING APPLIES TO CONSUMERS ONLY:

Cancellation policy

Right of cancellation

You have the right to revoke this contract within fourteen days without stating reasons.

The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the date of conclusion of the contract.

To exercise your right of cancellation, you must inform us (lingoking GmbH, c/o comN, Gotzinger Straße 19, 81371 Munich, Tel: 089/41612200, e-mail: info@lingoking.com) of your decision to revoke this contract by means of a clear declaration (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached sample cancellation form to do so, but this is not mandatory.

To comply with the cancellation period, it is enough for you to send notification that you are exercising the right to cancel before the expiry of the cancellation period.

Consequences of revocation

If you choose to cancel this contract, we will immediately refund all payments we have received from you, including shipping costs (except for additional costs which arise from your selection of a shipping method other than the most cost-effective standard delivery offered by us), at the latest within fourteen days from the date on which we received the notice of cancellation of this contract. The refund will be made using the same payment method you used for the original transaction, unless otherwise expressly agreed with you; you will not under any circumstances be charged fees for this refund.

If you have requested that the services begin during the withdrawal period, you must pay us a reasonable amount corresponding to the proportion of the services already provided up to the time you notify us of the exercise of the right of cancellation in respect of this contract compared to the total scope of the services provided for in the contract.

Special remarks

By placing an order, the customer expressly agrees that lingoking may begin performing the service before the end of the cancellation period. The customer is aware that it loses its right of cancellation upon complete fulfilment of the contract by lingoking.

As of February 2024

§ 1 General

lingoking GmbH, c/o comN, Gotzinger Straße 19, 81371 Munich, Germany, registered in the Commercial Register of the Local Court of Munich under HRB 187235 (hereinafter "lingoking") offers its customers the opportunity to place and manage orders for language services, i.e. translation services (hereinafter collectively "lingoking services"), via the website operated by lingoking, www.lingoking.com (hereinafter "lingoking portal"), for example, and for the translators commissioned by lingoking (hereinafter collectively "professionals", insofar as no distinction is required) to accept and manage such orders. The conclusion and processing of the respective contractual relationship for a lingoking service takes place between the customer and lingoking or the professional and lingoking using the lingoking portal.

These General Terms and Conditions of Business and Use for Translators (hereinafter "GTC Translators") govern the conditions under which professionals can offer their services to lingoking and execute orders placed by lingoking. These GTC Translators apply exclusively to all professionals, even if the use or access takes place from outside the Federal Republic of Germany. Any regulations deviating from these GTC Translators, in particular also terms and conditions of the professionals, are hereby expressly rejected.

lingoking is entitled to make changes to these GTC Translators. lingoking will only make these changes for valid reasons, in particular due to new technical developments, changes in case law or other equivalent reasons. If the amendment adversely affects the contractual balance between the parties to a significant extent, the amendment shall not be made. In other respects, changes require the consent of the professional. lingoking undertakes to specifically inform the professional in the information about the changes, about the options for objection and termination, the deadline and the legal consequences, especially with regard to a failure to object. Changes to these GTC Translators are deemed agreed unless the professional objects to the amendment or terminates the contract within one month of receipt of the notice of amendment. In the event that the professional objects to a change in these GTC Translators, lingoking has the right to extraordinary termination of the business relationship.

lingoking may transfer its rights and obligations under this contract to a third company (such as a foreign company or an affiliated company) (transfer of contract). In the event of the contract being taken over, the professional shall be entitled to terminate the contract with effect from the time of the contract being taken over.

§ 2 Registration

Depending on the service, it may be possible or necessary for the professional to register on the lingoking website. In this case, the professional is obliged to fill in the fields provided in the registration form truthfully and correctly. After successful registration, the professional receives a user account. Should the collected data change at a point after registration, the professional must update the information in the user account without delay.

When registering, the professional specifies a username and password for access to the lingoking portal (hereinafter "access data"). Usernames whose use infringes the rights of third parties, in particular trademark rights or rights to a name, are not permitted. Illegal usernames or usernames that offend common decency are also inadmissible.

The professional must keep the access data secret and protect it from access by unauthorised third parties. If the professional loses their access data or discovers or suspects that their access data is being used by a third party, they must inform lingoking immediately. lingoking assumes no liability for damages caused by access data that has fallen into the hands of third parties. lingoking will never ask the professional for their password.

By submitting the data in the registration form, the professional makes an offer to lingoking to conclude a contract of use for the lingoking portal. lingoking reserves the right to refuse the professional's registration without giving reasons. As soon as lingoking accepts the professional's offer to register, the professional receives a confirmation e-mail with the registration data and an activation link. Upon receipt of this confirmation email, the contract of use for the lingoking portal is concluded between lingoking and the professional.

Registration is only permitted to legal entities and natural persons with unlimited legal capacity. The registration of a legal entity may only be carried out by a natural person authorised to do so; this natural person must be named. The creation of multiple user accounts for the same natural person or legal entity is not permitted.

§ 3 Performance of the professional, warranty

The professional assures that they have the qualifications required for the execution of an order accepted from lingoking and that they have provided true information about their person. lingoking is entitled to demand the submission of suitable documents from the professional in order to verify this information and to store these documents for the fulfilment of its contractual obligations.

lingoking offers assignments to professionals at its own discretion and is not obliged to do so. When the professional accepts an assignment, they undertake to carry out the assignment carefully and in accordance with the quality standards customary in the industry. Professionals may only work in such languages and in such fields of expertise in which they have perfect knowledge in order to be able to carry out the assigned tasks conscientiously.

Any individual specialist terminology used by the customer shall be taken into account by the specialist upon agreement and upon presentation of appropriate documents, e.g. pre-translations or word lists. The documents for this are provided in the preparation phase before the start of each discussion. Technical terms must otherwise be translated in accordance with the quality standards as set out in Para. 1.

The professional undertakes to communicate with customers in the case of questions or ambiguities exclusively via the chat function provided by lingoking in the user account and to contact lingoking immediately if no clarification could be brought about. Direct contact with the customer beyond the chat function provided by lingoking in the user account without prior agreement with lingoking is not permitted.

The customer's time constraints must always be adhered to. The professional is obliged to inform lingoking immediately if there are any difficulties or foreseeable delays in the execution of the contract.

The professional undertakes to provide their services at the agreed time, i.e. to arrive punctually at the agreed appointments and to adhere to time specifications of the customer. If, for reasons for which the professional is responsible (lateness, non-appearance, etc.), agreed deadlines or time limits are not met, any claim of the professional to remuneration shall lapse.

If a claim is justifiably asserted against lingoking by a customer due to defective performance of the professional, lingoking is entitled to reduce the remuneration of the professional accordingly and/or to assert claims for damages. The assertion of other claims and/or rights remains unaffected.

§ 4 Professional secrecy, confidentiality

Documents and information that the professional receives from a customer or lingoking in connection with a translation are to be treated as strictly confidential and are not to be passed on to third parties, exploited or used without the prior written consent of the customer or lingoking, unless the professional is obliged to do so by law or by principles of jurisprudence. The professional will take all appropriate precautions to ensure confidentiality. The duty of absolute confidentiality continues even after the end of the cooperation. Upon request, documents handed over, including all copies made thereof, as well as working documents and materials, shall be returned.

Conditions agreed between lingoking and the professional are also to be treated as strictly confidential, especially towards the customer.

The professional is fully liable for all damages incurred by the customer or lingoking due to a breach of these duties. Violations will lead to immediate exclusion from lingoking and may result in legal action. The confidentiality obligation shall also apply to the legal successors of the parties.

§ 5 Non-competition clause

In order to maintain a professional relationship, lingoking expects its professionals to refrain from direct contact with lingoking's customers beyond the performance of the service commissioned by lingoking. In particular, the professionals undertake not to accept any follow-up orders from customers outside the lingoking portal. For each case of culpable infringement, the professional undertakes to pay lingoking a contractual penalty of EUR 5,001.00. The assertion of claims for damages is not affected by this.

§ 6 Infringements and rights of third parties, warranty

The professional indemnifies lingoking from all claims of third parties and/or other disadvantages that may result from the execution of an order placed by lingoking. This includes, in particular, a claim based on the content of a translation (infringement of personal rights, etc.) and/or other property rights of third parties (such as copyrights, name and trademark rights).

§ 7 Remuneration, payment and warranty rights

The professional receives the contractually agreed remuneration for the execution of the order, which is specified in the professional's user account. The remuneration is based on the number of words/lines or pages, language combination, difficulty, subject area of the translation or as a lump sum. The agreed remuneration is net plus the applicable value added tax, insofar as this arises by law. Remuneration shall be in euros if no other currency has been agreed.

Any costs and expenses are covered by the agreed remuneration. A claim for the reimbursement of costs and expenses within the framework of the contractual execution of the order exists only insofar as they are proven as actually incurred and have been agreed with lingoking.

There is no entitlement to an advance on costs. The professional is also not entitled to invoice partial services.

Should a customer of lingoking withdraw from the contract before the execution of an interpreting or translation order, the following regulations apply:

• The customer may withdraw from the contract at any time before the order is carried out by means of a written declaration.
• If the customer withdraws from the contract, lingoking will also withdraw from the contract with the professional. In this case, the professional can demand reasonable compensation from lingoking for the expenses incurred. This cancellation compensation is determined in the form of a cancellation lump sum according to the following percentages of the contractually agreed price for all individual services ordered: a. in the event of cancellation up to 14 days before the contractually agreed date of completion of the order, 25 % (of the contractually agreed price for all individual services ordered), b. in the event of cancellation from 14 days to 7 days before the contractually agreed date of completion of the order, 50 % (of the contractually agreed price for all individual services ordered), c. in the event of cancellation 7 days or fewer before the contractually agreed date of completion of the order, 100 % (of the contractually agreed price for all individual services ordered), d. lingoking is free to prove that the professional has not suffered any damage or that the damage suffered by the professional is less than the requested compensation lump sum.

The regulation on the right of withdrawal remains unaffected by this.

By the 15th of the following calendar month, a credit note will be generated in PDF format, which will be sent by e-mail and/or can be accessed in the user account. This credit note counts as an invoice by the professional. If the professional is obliged to pay value added tax, the applicable value added tax shall be indicated on the credit note.

All earnings are paid out at the latest at the end of the following month

Payments are generally made through PayPal, Skrill or bank transfer. The professional pays for any transaction fees deducted or charged by the payment service provider or bank. The professional alone is responsible for ensuring that they have a valid account with the relevant payment provider for the purpose of accepting payments.

The professional must enter their payment information into their user account in order for the payment to be made.

No interest is paid on the credit balance in the user account.

lingoking expressly points out that payouts are taxable as income and must be declared accordingly for tax purposes by the professional to their tax office.

§ 8 Liability

lingoking is liable without limitation in the event of injury to life, body or health. In the event of a breach of material contractual obligations, lingoking is also liable for slight negligence, but then limited to the typical, foreseeable damage. Material contractual obligations are contractual obligations, the fulfilment of which is a prerequisite for the proper performance of the contract and the observance of which the professional normally relies on and may rely on. Typical, foreseeable damages are those which are subject to the protective purpose of the respective contractual or statutory norm violated. Otherwise, lingoking is not liable for slight negligence. The above limitations of liability also apply to the organs and vicarious agents of lingoking.

In particular, lingoking assumes no liability for the accuracy of data provided by third parties via lingoking. lingoking is also not liable for delays or deficiencies in execution resulting from unclear, incorrect or incomplete transmission or placement of an order. This applies in particular in cases where third parties have gained unauthorised access to the services of lingoking and have caused disruptions to the operation, of whatever kind and/or whatever content.

§ 9 Dispute Resolution

The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution (OS), which you can find here: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/ We are not obliged or willing to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board.

§ 10 Final provisions

Orders addressed to lingoking that are not covered by the scope of services pursuant to Section 3 are not subject to these Terms and Conditions. The conditions for such services shall be agreed separately.

If the parties have agreed on written form, this is also fulfilled by e-mail and fax.

This User Agreement as well as agreements concluded on the basis of these Terms and Conditions shall be governed exclusively by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the conflict of laws rules.

For professionals who are merchants, legal entities under public law or special funds under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction is Munich. lingoking is, however, also entitled to take legal action at the professional's place of business.

In case of ambiguity, the German version always applies.

Any documents and information that the translator obtains from a user or from lingoking in conjunction with a translation shall be treated as strictly confidential, and shall not be shared with third parties, sold or used without prior written permission from the customer or from lingoking unless the interpreter is obligated to do so by law or based on case-law principles. The translator shall take all suitable precautions to ensure confidentiality. The obligation to maintain complete confidentiality shall apply even after the end of the collaboration. Upon request, all provided documentation, including all copies thereof and any work documents and materials, must be returned. The translator shall be fully liable for all damages that are incurred by the customer or lingoking due to a violation of these obligations. Violations shall lead to an immediate ban from lingoking and may result in legal action. The confidentiality obligation also applies to the parties’ legal successors.

The translator shall exclusively accept jobs that meet the competence and language profile entered and confirmed with lingoking. The translator must always be able to judge whether he/she can perform a job satisfactorily. If an translator believes he/she is not qualified for a job, he/she must immediately inform lingoking of this, and the job can be refused without any claim to compensation. The translator shall refrain from accepting jobs or entering into situations that could damage the reputation of the profession or of lingoking. The translator can refuse to translate conversations or any information that is insulting or that violates EU laws or directives. The translator shall work to transmit statements precisely, with consideration for the content, meaning and cultural context of the original. The translator shall convey everything that he/she understands. The translator shall not make any changes or omissions, nor add anything that could change the meaning of the original. The translator shall be well prepared for jobs and shall perform them in a punctual manner. The translator shall always act professionally and in keeping with the professional code of ethics. The translator shall have an exclusively professional relationship with the persons who use his/her services. He/she shall avoid dependent relationships between customers and translators, and shall participate in the exchange exclusively as an translator. The translator shall strive to be impartial and shall not influence the exchange with advice or based on personal preferences or convictions. The translator shall avoid all behaviors and actions that would suggest a preference toward one party to the conversation. The translator shall inform the affected party of any actual or assumed conflict of interest that would impair his/her objectivity in performing the service. The translator shall treat all involved parties with respect.

The translator shall treat all parties to the conversation in a culturally competent, sensitive and respectful way. The translator shall be polite, and shall not discriminate against conversation partners on the basis of gender, handicap, race, skin color, origin, age, socio-economic or educational status, or on the basis of religious or political convictions.

The translator shall present all of the relevant certifications, qualifications and work experience needed by lingoking, in a true and complete manner. The translator agrees to pursue consistent further education and expansion of knowledge, and to promote the profession through professional development and further education measures as well as through exchanges with colleagues and experts from similar areas. The translator shall ensure a work environment that is suitable for translating. The translator shall ensure a pleasant working atmosphere free from disruptive noise. The translator agrees to maintain confidentiality about all circumstances and actions of which he/she becomes aware in conjunction with his/her work, as long as these are not in violation of applicable (penal) law. The translator agrees to promote the best possible flow of conversation, and shall act as a moderator if necessary.