Hi Suzanne,

> Lets pretend that Company X created a new self-cleaning computer screen,
and
> spent a lot of money to determine what the best term for the device in
> various markets was. Maybe in France it would be called a "wiper screen",
in
> Japan a "sanitizing CRT", and in Russia a "pristine display." All of these
> names could have been selected after doing market research to find out
what
> the optimal phrasing is to get the most positive consumer response.
>
> Having gone to the time and expense of figuring this stuff out, the
company
> would not be particularly happy if the translation agency or translator
goes
> on to a job with their competitor, and blithely applies these terms to
their
> competing product.

Don't you think these cases, brand names and the like, are already protected
by trade-mark and copyright laws? In a way, this problem is beyond that of
translation: any brand name is protected before being launched and is public
from the very moment is launched to the market.

My point is: I feel that these particular cases go beyond the scope of
typical translation problems and are already dealt with by laws and
contracts. Any brand name, original or translated or re-created (like
Gudmund's), can be properly protected and cannot be treated the same way as
regular text.

By the way, Gudmund, about the activity you describe.

> Typically I am the one who
> comes up with the swedish terminology, often making them brand-oriented
> to give each customer their own special flavor in the market, but
> stickin to a general teminology where it makes sense, so the end user
> won't get flummoxed each time he/she changes product supplier.

Don't you think this activity is more than translating? Most companies hire
people to do this even in their source language, the same way they hire
someone to prepare ads, etc.

Best regards,
Antonio