# Is it against the law to have someone who doesn't understand english sign a contract?



## Student (Mar 3, 2011)

A contract in english of course. Such as a property release or a model release etc...? Or do I have to have my contracts translated every time? I have this great French model who wants to work with me and I don't have French release forms. I had her sign the english form and give me a photocopy of her passport. I suppose it's all legal even though it was done in english and she doesn't speak a single word of english? The contract was signed in Paris by the way.


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## cnutco (Mar 3, 2011)

That is a good question, although if I were to guess, I would say that it needs to be in the national language of the area that you are in.

If you are in the USA, then American language.  If you are in France, then French.

Any legal types care to have a go at this?


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## PJL (Mar 3, 2011)

^ "American language" is also known as "English"  

I'm not a lawyer in France, but if you signed the contract in Paris, they may have a requirement that legal documents be in French.

By the way, it's usually not a matter of "breaking the law," per se, but being able to enforce your rights under the contract in court.  You don't want the other person to be able to challenge the validity of the contract.


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## gsgary (Mar 3, 2011)

I would say if it is in an English speaking country it is down to the model to try and understand what she is signing


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## Robin Usagani (Mar 3, 2011)

You give her the contract, you let her find somebody translate it for her.  If she just signed it without reading it (like a lot of us do even if we know the language), then it is her own fault if she does not like the outcome per the contract.


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## Student (Mar 3, 2011)

So basically now that she has signed it in English she is bound to the contract no matter what, even if she claims she doesn't understand english? I also got her to give me a photocopy of her passport.


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## Scatterbrained (Mar 3, 2011)

No.  Your best bet would be to find someone who can explain what she is signing for her and have her and the interpreter sign that she has had it explained in her language.  What the law says in black and white and what a judge may do to "make it right" are not one in the same.  One judge may say "too bad so sad, you signed it" while another judge may try to determine if she had the capacity to understand what she was signing and if you were aware of her level of understanding before making a decision.


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## Robin Usagani (Mar 3, 2011)

As long as you give her time to sign it.  Dont make her sign it at the spot.  Send the PDF via email so you have a time stamp when you send it to her and when she signed it.


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## Student (Mar 3, 2011)

My contract says "I AGREE THAT I HAVE NO RIGHTS TO THE CONTENT, AND ALL RIGHTS TO THE CONTENT BELONG TO THE PHOTOGRAPHER / FILMMAKER AND ASSIGNS. I ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT I HAVE NO FURTHER RIGHT TO ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION OR ACCOUNTING, AND THAT *I WILL MAKE NO FURTHER CLAIM FOR ANY REASON* TO PHOTOGRAPHER / FILMMAKER AND / OR ASSIGNS." This should mean that she has no right to sue me for any reason what so ever. Can she still sue me?


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## Scatterbrained (Mar 3, 2011)

Of course she can.  That doesn't mean she'll win, but she can still sue.  If she doesn't speak English just cover your ass by having someone go over it with her. I used to deal with a sizable group of Russians at my old shop in Va.  I had another client who was Russian and spoke perfect English, if there was a problem, he would come by and help explain the situation to them.  This helped alleviate any confusion going into a deal.


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## Student (Mar 3, 2011)

What if I was the translator?


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## CCericola (Mar 3, 2011)

I guess since no one here is a french lawyer I would find one and ask them. Can't find one? Go to the US Embassy and ask for help.


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## mwcfarms (Mar 3, 2011)

My marriage contract was in spanish. Didn't have a clue what I was signing haha. Let me know if you find out that its not valid. Could prove useful in certain situations. Hahaha.


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## Overread (Mar 3, 2011)

gsgary said:


> I would say if it is in an English speeking country it is down to the model to try and understand what she is signing


 
I would agree with this, but I would also say that any legitimate business or individual trading with another and exchanging contracts should also ensure that their client is able to understand the content of the contract that they are signing. The idea of a contract is protection and to ensure that each party is in agreement - if one party can't understand the contact then its a deception (even if its not intended as such).

I would consider it a moral wrong to do business with a party not able to understand what they are fully agreeing to - there is a big difference between being able too and choosing not to read the fine print and not being able to read it to start with. Further a half competent lawyer can pull that apart in a court room (you forced her/coerced her etc....). Even if you walk away with the legal victory your reputation and company/personal image will be tarnished. 


A translated version might cost you, but it ensures that your client fully understands the contract and further has a version in their own language that they have to refer to. Considering the situation you might agree to split the translation fee with your client (note I say fee because you don't just want a word for word translation, you want a legal translation that says the same thing legally speaking in each language).


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## GeneralBenson (Mar 3, 2011)

At first I was thinking, no it wouldn't be valid. I doubt illegal, but just not valid. Yu would have a hard time holding someone to something they didn't understand. Bt then i was thinking, that in most, if not all, the burden is on the signee to understand what they are signing. My wife and I a in the process of buying our first house, and we just went through the contact the other day. It might as well have been in another language, but I made sure I understood all of it before signing. And if I hadn't, I. Sure it all still would have been binding.

So, if yu give someone a contract, and they don't know the language, but they sign it anyways without knowing what it means, then I think that is their fault, and it would still be valid. But where things get tricky is with some form of translation happening, especially if you're the one doing it. If it were translated, valley by someone else, you have no idea what they said or how accurate it was, and it opens all sorts of doors for misinformation and misrepresentation. Or also, if you have basic skills in that language, you would be tempted to just paraphrase what it all means (or at least i would), but I think that would have the same problems. If the signee later has a disagreement with the way images were being used or something, it would be easy to make a case that what she signed was misrepresented.


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## c.cloudwalker (Mar 3, 2011)

A contract is one thing, the law is another. Then you have lawyers and judges who can look at both and understand them totally differently with the result that contracts, including those written by lawyers, can always be disputed in a court of law where it will always come down to who has the better lawyer 

The best thing is to do everything you can to make it all as legal as possible. In your case, you should have had a model release in french. Why would an english document be legal in France? I moved to France a few months ago and I've spend quite a bit of money on translations of US documents...

And do you even know if your model release in english fits the model release law of France?


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## KmH (Mar 3, 2011)

Student said:


> My contract says "I AGREE THAT I HAVE NO RIGHTS TO THE CONTENT, AND ALL RIGHTS TO THE CONTENT BELONG TO THE PHOTOGRAPHER / FILMMAKER AND ASSIGNS. I ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT I HAVE NO FURTHER RIGHT TO ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION OR ACCOUNTING, AND THAT *I WILL MAKE NO FURTHER CLAIM FOR ANY REASON* TO PHOTOGRAPHER / FILMMAKER AND / OR ASSIGNS." This should mean that she has no right to sue me for any reason what so ever. Can she still sue me?


She can sue for anything, at any time.

You don't show a location in your profile. Laws vary by country. In the US model release laws vary by state.

An online forum is not a good place to get reliable legal advice.

Getty Images has PDF files of it's model release in a broad range of languages. I can only link you to the English version, which you don't need. You'll have to locate the French version yourself.

By the way, the one you are using has some general, large, legal holes in it. I recommend you consult a qualified attorney.


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## cnutco (Mar 3, 2011)

PJL said:


> ^ "American language" is also known as "English"


 
LOL!  I only had one cup of coffee at that time...


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## PASM (Mar 3, 2011)

My guess: there may be a legal caveat which requires a commercial contract agreed within France/French territory to be drawn-up in both the language of the business and also in French if this is a secondary language. (And the nuances of the French language defined would be the legally accepted meaning too).


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## PJL (Mar 3, 2011)

Student said:


> My contract says "I AGREE THAT I HAVE NO RIGHTS TO THE CONTENT, AND ALL RIGHTS TO THE CONTENT BELONG TO THE PHOTOGRAPHER / FILMMAKER AND ASSIGNS. I ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT I HAVE NO FURTHER RIGHT TO ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION OR ACCOUNTING, AND THAT *I WILL MAKE NO FURTHER CLAIM FOR ANY REASON* TO PHOTOGRAPHER / FILMMAKER AND / OR ASSIGNS." This should mean that she has no right to sue me for any reason what so ever. Can she still sue me?


Dusting off my 1L contract law, I believe that in the United States such a provision to completely waive your right so sue is unenforceable, unless the contract provides for some other type of arbitration. For example, what if you use her image to defame her?


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## Garbz (Mar 3, 2011)

Student said:


> What if I was the translator?


 
Then you may be in legal hotwater if it turns out she didn't understand your translation perfectly and the contract is challenged.

People can challenge a contract for whatever they want. It is up to you to ensure that you are as protected as possible. Give her the contract, give her as much time as she needs to sign it. Signing under duress or signing a contract that isn't understood in an unconscionable way (extensive legalese, not necessarily in another language) is bad, but on the same token if she doesn't take the time to read her contract than that's on her providing your contract is reasonably standard and expected. (i.e. again you usually can't make someone sign away their house on the delivery receipt for a package for instance since it's not standard and unconscionable even if the person doesn't read it)

Contract law varies greatly, and is a complicated beast with mass volumes of text written on them. If you're worried as a lawyer, or at the very least a law student and not simply an online photography forum. Also ask someone local!


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## Robin Usagani (Mar 3, 2011)

Does anyone speak Mexican here?


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## mwcfarms (Mar 3, 2011)

Mexican as is spanish?


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## KmH (Mar 3, 2011)

Yo, vato. ¿Que paso? 

There are notable differences between Mexican and colloquial Spanish, kind of like the differences between the Queen's English, and American English, and of course the slang varies a great deal too. I'm not familair with Spanish slang.

hood - bonnet
trunk - boot
toilet - loo
gasoline - petrol
french fries - chips
chick (girl) - bird (girl)


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## Robin Usagani (Mar 3, 2011)

color colour
airplane aeroplane
gray grey
neighbor neighbour
while whilst
learned learnt

etc..


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## Student (Mar 5, 2011)

Since I am a very careful person my contracts say that I can reveal all personal information, make defamatory and offensive content and I added a clause that if anyone sues me in relation to this contract they have to pay me 1 billion Pounds. (British not Egyptian  ) Now I just hope this is legal. I'm joking but most of my models are french or Swiss they don't all speak english and most sign a contract without reading it. Actually could I? (Include a clause that they have to pay me 1 bil if they sue me for any reason what so ever?)


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## PJL (Mar 5, 2011)

This is just getting stupid.  I feel trolled.


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## Overread (Mar 5, 2011)

If most of your clients are French and Swiss why have you not drawn up contracts already in the native language for them? Contracts are there to both ensure that each party is agreeing to the same transaction and that there is no misunderstanding as well as to protect both you and your models.


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## Vautrin (Mar 6, 2011)

Not all countries are as sue happy as america.  I'd seriously doubt you would get sued in france whether or not the contract was enforceable


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## table1349 (Mar 6, 2011)

PJL said:


> ^ "American language" is also known as "English"


 
Only in America.  We have butchered English enough that it is now it,s own dialect.:lmao:


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## imLOSTirl (Mar 9, 2011)

Schwettylens said:


> You give her the contract, you let her find somebody translate it for her.  If she just signed it without reading it (like a lot of us do even if we know the language), then it is her own fault if she does not like the outcome per the contract.


 
This.


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## Gene Gustafson (Apr 2, 2011)

You'll find out for sure when she sues you.


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## SNBniko (Apr 2, 2011)

Daughter of a lawyer here.

My guess is yes.  Just like if someone signs a contract when they're inebriated, it is null.  It is one thing if someone didn't read it and signed it anyways, it is a whole 'nother ball game when they can't understand it or its consequences.  Best of luck!


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## molested_cow (Apr 2, 2011)

May be you can include a witness line so she can get someone to sign it and make sure that she understands the content of the contract?


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