Sole proprietorship — in Spanish and Italian.

Definition

A business owned and run by one person.

Spanish and Italian equivalents

In Spanish, Sole proprietorship is rendered as Empresa unipersonal; in Italian, as Impresa individuale / Ditta individuale. Italian likewise admits more than one form (Impresa individuale / Ditta individuale), with the choice driven by the document type and context. Spanish equivalents follow Argentine (Rioplatense) usage where it differs from European Spanish. In a certified translation the equivalent is chosen for the target jurisdiction; where the concept has no exact counterpart, the source term is kept alongside a functional explanation.

Translating Commercial, Corporate & Company Law terminology

Company types do not translate one-to-one. A Spanish S.L., a Mexican S. de R.L. de C.V. and an Italian S.r.l. resemble a U.S. LLC in some respects and a corporation in others; S.A. and S.p.A. are closer to a corporation but governed by different rules on capital, directors and shareholder meetings. Certified translations of articles, bylaws, registry certificates and board minutes keep the original entity designation and organ names (consejo de administración, consiglio di amministrazione, junta general, assemblea) with an explanatory English equivalent.

Related terms in Commercial, Corporate & Company Law

• Company / Corporation — Sociedad
• Corporation / Stock company — Sociedad anónima (S.A.)
• Limited liability company — Sociedad de responsabilidad limitada (S.R.L.)
• Partnership — Sociedad de personas / colectiva
• General partnership — Sociedad colectiva
• Limited partnership — Sociedad en comandita
• Shareholder — Accionista / Socio
• Share / Stock — Acción / Cuota
• Capital / Share capital — Capital social
• Dividend — Dividendo
• Board of directors — Directorio / Consejo de administración
• Director — Director
• Managing director / CEO — Gerente general / Director ejecutivo
• Officer — Funcionario / Ejecutivo
• Auditor — Auditor / Síndico
• Statutory auditor / Supervisory board — Comisión fiscalizadora / Sindicatura
• General meeting / Shareholders' meeting — Asamblea de accionistas / socios
• Bylaws / Articles of association — Estatuto / Contrato social
• Memorandum of association — Acta constitutiva
• Incorporation / Formation — Constitución de sociedad
• Registered office — Domicilio social / sede legal
• Commercial register — Registro público de comercio / IGJ
• Merger — Fusión
• Acquisition / Takeover — Adquisición / Toma de control
• Demerger / Spin-off — Escisión
• Dissolution — Disolución
• Liquidation — Liquidación
• Insolvency — Insolvencia / Cesación de pagos
• Bankruptcy — Quiebra
• Creditors' arrangement / Reorganization — Concurso preventivo
• Receivership — Administración judicial / Intervención
• Goodwill — Valor llave / Fondo de comercio
• Trademark — Marca
• Trade name — Nombre comercial
• Negotiable instrument — Título de crédito / valor
• Promissory note — Pagaré
• Bill of exchange — Letra de cambio
• Check / Cheque — Cheque
• Endorsement — Endoso
• Bill of lading — Conocimiento de embarque
• Invoice — Factura
• Letter of credit — Carta de crédito
• Distribution agreement — Contrato de distribución
• Agency agreement — Contrato de agencia
• Joint venture — Unión transitoria / Joint venture
• Unfair competition — Competencia desleal
• Antitrust / Competition law — Derecho de la competencia / Defensa de la competencia
• Consumer protection — Defensa del consumidor
• E-commerce — Comercio electrónico
• Corporate veil — Velo societario / Personalidad diferenciada
• Piercing the corporate veil — Inoponibilidad de la personalidad jurídica
• Holding company — Sociedad holding / controlante
• Subsidiary — Sociedad controlada / filial
• Affiliate — Sociedad vinculada
• Due diligence — Diligencia debida / Due diligence
• Quorum (meeting) — Quórum de constitución
• Proxy — Poder / Representación (asamblea)
• Minutes — Acta
• Annual report — Memoria y balance anual
• Balance sheet — Balance / Estado patrimonial
• Insolvency practitioner — Síndico concursal
• Bond (financial) — Bono / Obligación negociable
• Debenture — Debenture / Obligación

Browse the full Commercial, Corporate & Company Law area, return to the dictionary index, or search all 712 terms in the interactive dictionary (also available as a PDF).

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This page is for general orientation only. It is not legal advice and does not substitute for advice from licensed counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. Terminology varies between countries and between civil-law and common-law systems; the equivalents shown here are the most common in cross-border practice.