Author: Serkadis

GAMM presents the range of indexing plungers model PNAX. Threaded stainless steel body with rest position. Stainless steel pin. Stainless steel spring. Mat black thermoplastic knurled knob. Knurled knob of different colors upon request. We can also provide the version with Stainless Steel nut. For more technical information you can visit our web-site.

Pipeline Isolation Valves for a Wide Range of Process Applications. Valves can be fitted with customer choice of Actuation. The parallel slide gate valves are produced in a wide range of sizes and designs (including Venturi and full bore) for fluid isolation duties on steam raising plant and process systems throughout industry. The outstanding feature of the parallel slide design is that of maintained fluid-tightness without the aid of wedging action. No mechanical stress is exerted between the discs, and the valve is not subjected to dangerous strains on opening or closing.

Established over 160 years ago, Hopkinsons products are renowned for long and dependable service life. They can be found on installations ranging from shell boilers to the highest capacity units within electricity generating stations.

Agme designs and manufactures special purpose machines for assembling links to tubes by tube end forming processes. After the parts are loaded, the two forming units assemble the links to the tubes by beading the tube on both sides of each link.

This special purpose machine includes the following devices:
– Base frame
– Two tube end forming units for beading the tubes on both sides of the link with: clamps for holding the tube, fixtures for postioning the links, AGME hydraulic presses PH-50 (50 tons) and beading fixtures.
– Unloading unit with slide chariots
– Fixture lubrication system

This type of machines are capable of performing many other operations in tubes: roll beading, 90º form flange, flanging, single flaring, flare in, radius flaring, doming, angular flaring, end reducing and end expanding.

GEMÜ has developed new stainless steel ball valves in the nominal sizes DN 8 – 100. The new GEMÜ 740 series has been specially designed for demanding applications in the pharmaceutical and foodstuff industry.

Ball valves are subject to increased hygienic requirements in pharmaceutical production where valves typically have to exhibit minimum deadleg areas and smooth surfaces. Media remaining trapped in cavities of valves can contaminate medicines so cavity filling seats are incorporated to improve cleanability of residues and crystallising media.

The cavity filled seat of the 740 series from GEMÜ consists of two special half shells made from TFMTM. This innovative sealing material complies with the stringent requirements of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and conforms to FDA 21 CFR 177.1550. TFMTM is as resistant to chemicals and heat as conventional PTFE. It is also distinguished by a significantly smoother surface, a small pore volume, low cold flow properties, very low deformation under load and an almost universal chemical resistance. The internal surface finishes of the pipe connections and balls are mechanically polished and also electropolished to a low surface roughness of 0.6µm in the media wetted area which ensures good cleanability (CIP) and sterilisation (SIP) of the valves.

The spindle is triple sealed by pretensioned spring washers, V-rings and a conical gasket. The sealing package can be readjusted and requires little maintenance. The series is compliant with the TA Luft (German Clean Air Act). At the same time, this design ensures low friction as well as a long service life of the sealing system in conjunction with the finely machined spindle.

When open, the ball valves offer a good flow capability. The maximum permissible operating temperature is 180°C. In the case of steam, the maximum permissible steam pressure is 8 bar. The maximum permissible operating pressure is 63 bar for liquids in the nominal sizes DN 8 – 50 and 55 bar in the nominal sizes DN 65 – 100. Butt weld spigots to DIN 11850, DIN ISO 1127, ASME BPE as well as clamp connections in accordance with ASME BPE are available as standard connections. Other connections are available on request.

Imagine if the letters on your keyboard faded away, the coating on your glasses came off or the numbers of your dashboard disappeared. This can happen if the manufacturer does not properly treat the plastic surface.
It is often necessary to print, coat or glue plastic materials as part of the manufacturing process. In order for liquid adhesives, glues, coatings or inks to adhere to the surface of moulded or extruded plastics, it is necessary to increase the surface energy to improve the surface wettability, thereby promoting stronger adhesion.

Corona & Plasma Surface Treatment
The polymer composition of plastics presents considerable challenges when designing materials that will bond with or decorate plastic. Surface treatment improves wettability by raising the material’s surface energy and improving the adhesive characteristics by creating bonding sites. The most advanced and successful methods of surface treatment are based on a principle of corona or plasma discharge through air or under vacuum.
Specialized corona and plasma systems treat almost everything from syringes to dashboards.

Surface energy
The phenomenon of surface energy is based on the relative energies of the solid substrate and the liquid in contact with it. Determining the surface energy of a polymer surface is critical to ensuring proper coating and print quality, as well as the adhesion properties – particularly important with the growing popularity of water-based inks, coatings, and adhesives.
Practical measurements of surface energy involve the interaction with a test liquid to determine wetting tension of solid materials as a measure of surface energy – a so called dyne test.

Tantec Corona and Plasma Treaters make things stick
Although there are numerous theories explaining the principles behind the process of corona and plasma treatment, the most commonly accepted theory appears to be the theory of high-speed oxidation. This theory states that the energy of the discharge breaks the molecular bonds on the surface of the non-polar substrate. The broken bonds then recombine with the free radicals in the discharge environment to form additional polar groups on the plastic surface. These polar groups have a strong chemical affinity to the polar inks, coatings and adhesives, resulting in improved adhesion. Similarly, this results in increased surface energy for the polarized surface, which correlates to improved wettability.

The production range of our company includes several typologies of filter cartridges, available in different sizes and offering a lot of solutions, either following the current standards in force or made to customer specifications.
It is a strong point of our company to manufacture products suitable for either batch or medium-large mass production, by applying customized solutions that assure the best results at lower costs.

The Lee Company offers two types of miniature precision nozzles: the Spin Jet and the Lubrication Jet. Both types are constructed entirely from stainless steel for compatibility with most industrial and aerospace liquids. Both incorporate the unique installation and retention principle used in the already proven and qualified Lee valves and restrictors. Their small size and light weight make them extremely cost effective.

All Lee nozzles can be installed in any attitude; you simply install the insert in a reamed hole, and lock and seal it by pressing the pin in the insert. This easy installation eliminates costly assemblies, seals, and threads, yet the nozzles can be readily removed whenever necessary. Lee nozzles are the most compact, economical, and reliable nozzles available anywhere.

LEE SPIN JETS
Lee Spin Jets utilize unique vortices and flow passages to provide a finely atomized hollow cone spray pattern. When used with most normal fuels, Spin Jets produce a 70° cone angle spray with differential pressure in the 50-200 psi range. With liquids having surface tension in the 0.002-0.005 lb./ft. range, the droplet size is typically less than 150 µm. Four convenient part numbers, spanning the range from 6000 to 18,000 Lohms, are available, each with a safety screen to protect against rogue particles. The recommended maximum service temperature is 700°F (371°C), and for continuous service is 400°F (204°C).

LEE LUBRICATION JETS
Lee Lubrication Jets generate a straight, well-defined stream of fluid to a predetermined target with differential pressures of 10 to 200 psid. These units are ideal for directing streams of lubricating oil at critical bearings, or cooling oil at meshing gears, or fuel at the inside of vaporizing tubes in aircraft combustion chambers.

The recommended maximum temperature for using Lee Lubri-cation Jets containing integral safety screens is 700°F (371°C) short term, and 400°F (204°C) for continuous service.

Now the variable displacement axial-piston pump, type V30E-270 from HAWE Hydraulik SE, Munich, is suited to a broader range of demanding applications in mobile hydraulics. The redesigned housing extends the range of applications for this pump, for example concrete pumps, harbor cranes or large hydraulic excavators.

A new feature is the mounting flange SAE E conforming the standard SAE J744. This version now comes as third mounting flange variant on top of the existing versions conforming DIN ISO 3019-2/SAE J744 D and SAE J744 E. The shaft versions were also extended by another spline shaft variant according to SAE J744. This way HAWE Hydraulik can offer its customers a wide variety of combination options for the drive shaft and mounting flange, each finely tuned to the specific application.

If the pump is used as tandem combination, i.e. two pumps of the type V30E-270, the load increases. The end housing for the first pump was therefore newly designed to ensure safe transmission of higher drive performances from the first to the second pump. The user can flexibly select the second pump, irrespective of whether he wants to deploy the combination in mobile or stationary applications. The combination with HAWE Hydraulik’s variable displacement axial-piston pumps is ideal. Like all other pumps from the V30E series, the V30E-270 type can also be combined with the manufacturer’s radial piston pumps, for example to generate a second high pressure level.

The V30E variable displacement axial-piston pump is designed as swash plate built. It is sturdy and generally suited for open circuits both in mobile as well as industrial hydraulics. The purpose-built followers, swash plate bearing and control plate provide the pump with longevity. The extensive controller program supports its many deployment options. The pump model also excels through its low noise level.

The V30E-270 has been designed for an operating pressure of up to 350 bar, with a peak pressure of 420 bar. The volume flow clocks up a maximum of 400 liters at 1.500 rpm, with a geometric displacement of 270 cm3/rev.

Combined with HAWE Hydraulik’s proportional directional spool valves and electronic controls the pump easily extends into a fully-fledged and customized hydraulic system. The new nominal size 7 of the proportional directional spool valve is ideally suited for the tandem combination of two V30E-270 pumps. This new nominal size is also newly presented at bauma 2010.

Not surprisingly, the Nikkei is leading the world higher in early Friday trading.

But while Japan may be playing catch up to our mega-rally, other markets are showing some signs of sogginess.

US futures are down a touch. The Aussie dollar is down a little. So is the euro.

It’s nothing major, and doesn’t say anything too significant about what’s going to happen Friday.

After rising by 7% during the day, BP has fallen about 1% after hours, perhaps as investors realize that they’re not nearly out of the woods yet.

See a recap of the US trading day here.

Join the conversation about this story »

One of our readers sends us an update of one of our favorite technical charts showing a very long-term perspective on the 10-year. Yields have been falling again, amidst the general flight-to-safety (today notwithstanding).

As you can see, and you need to really click on the image to blow it up, each time the 10-year yield bounces off the top part of this particular channel, the stock market has taken a turn for the worse. (And usually it coincides with a crisis).

Click to enlarge:

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Filed under: Aftermarket, Performance, Europe, Hatchback, Alfa Romeo

Upon reading his own obituary, Mark Twain once famously quipped, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” Turns out, with apologies to the famous poet, that the same could be said of the Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA. The project may or may not be dead, but what we can tell you for certain is the spy shots that surfaced a couple of weeks ago were not of the GTA.

What we were actually looking at is a tuning kit by Magneti Marelli. Those who recognize the name may know it as Fiat‘s electronics division and a major OEM supplier, which produces everything from ECUs to headlights. It worked with Ford and Microsoft on the development of the Sync and Blue&Me in-car computer systems, and developed the Kinetic Energy Recovery System for Ferrari. In fact, the company’s scope reaches so far that they claim their parts are in just about every new car on the road today, wherever it’s made. Now the company is launching its own tuning division called Magneti Marelli Elaborazioni. The MiTo spied – as astute commenter “adpb” pointed out – was actually their first product, called the Kit-One.

The modification package is comprised of stiffer springs than lower the car by 30 millimeters, the “Parco Chiuso” dual-exit exhaust system with bypass valve, 305mm Brembo disc brakes, a competition ECU good for an extra 31 horsepower, 18-inch matte black wheels and a rather divisive body kit made by Carrozzeria Castagna Milano (who you might remember for their Aznom Corvette and various Fiat 500s) of which only 200 sets will be made. Each item can be ordered separately, and the division has also got packages in the works for the Fiat 500 and Grande Punto. And with their new facility going up in Auburn Hills, Michigan, we wouldn’t be entirely surprised to see them modifying Chryslers, Dodges and Jeeps in the near future. In the meantime you can check out the MiTo with the Kit-One in the gallery below.

[Source: Magnetti Marelli Elaborazioni]

Alfa MiTo Kit-One from Magneti Marelli Elaborazione isn’t the GTA originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 May 2010 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As governments around the world continue to go overboard in their condemnations of Google’s (admittedly bad) collection of open WiFi data via its Street View cars, much more interesting than the political grandstanding is the legal limbo mess that the collected data has been placed into. After realizing that it had accidentally collected this data, Google announced that it would stop collecting and begin deleting the data it collected (Update: more specifically, it said it wanted to delete the data, but would discuss with regulators before doing so). But that raised alarm bells from some, who worried that doing so would be deleting evidence for a possible lawsuit against Google. Then, governments started demanding that Google share the data with regulators, so they could determine how serious a privacy breach this really was. However, Google is noting that sharing the data would be a violation of privacy rights in many countries, pissing off regulators who put those privacy laws in place in the first place.

So… Google can’t collect this data, but it can’t delete the data it accidentally collected. Regulators want to see the data to see if it’s okay for Google to delete it, but they can’t see it, because that would violate privacy regulations. But, regulators feel they need to see it, to see if Google violated privacy regulations. So, basically everyone’s stuck in a state of limbo.

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Filed under: Classics, Auctions, Etc., Technology, Hatchback

When one thinks of advanced technology, the AMC Gremlin rarely (if ever) pops to mind. In fact, these days, unless you happen to be watching re-runs of the first season of True Blood you likely wouldn’t think of the Gremlin under any circumstances. Today’s eBay Motors find is a very special hydrogen-powered Gremlin that we’ve never heard of before.

As the story goes, back in the early 1970s, 64 university teams built cars to compete in the Urban Vehicle Design Challenge, with this machine coming out of the labs at the University of California – Los Angeles. The Gremlin was donated to UCLA by American Motors and Ford provided a 351 Cleveland V8. The UCLA team worked with suppliers such as Hooker, Edelbrock, Union Carbide and none other than Kustom Kar King George Barris to get the supplies needed to convert the V8 to run on hydrogen and get the car competition ready. The Impco-provided hydrogen tanks in the back only gave the Gremlin a 68-mile range, but considering the lack of fuel injection and sophisticated electronics, that’s not bad.

The wanton nostalgics among us aren’t just drawn to the car’s eccentric powertrain, but also to its period-appropriate mustard yellow paint, tire-tread bumpers, vintage Polyglas tires, and a couple of racing buckets that we’d like to mount on swivels and have in the Autoblog Living Room.

Incidentally, the Gremlin ultimately won the competition based on the fact that the steam emanating the from the tailpipe was cleaner than the air going into the carburetor. At this point, there are no bids on the car and it’s not clear if it runs, but we’d stand we-hell back before firing it up for the first time.

[Sources: eBay Motors, Wired]

eBay Find of the Day: Hydrogen-powered 1972 AMC Gremlin by George Barris originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 May 2010 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson made a huge sacrifice for his new movie “Things Fall Apart.”

In general, the MC looked like a linebacker in the NFL, but his starring role in “Things Fall Apart” directed by Mario Van Peebles, a film that was written 50 years ago, made him to cut 54 pounds, to play a college football player who is battling cancer. 50 Cent is on a liquid diet, he runs three times for one hour a day. Curtis used to weight 214 pounds, and now he is an unhealthy 160 pounds, as reported by U.S. Weekly.

It is not uncommon for actors to have this kind of weight loss for film roles. Matt Damon had to be skinny for his role in Courage Under Fire. Will Smith did it for “Seven Pounds” and Christian Bale got to be weak for “The Machinist.” But those were all for major releases. There is no information yet on whether this film will reach theaters or not.

Maybe this role will be important in 50 Cent’s career. As an actor, 50 Cent has played in only a couple of major releases and in other movies that came out directly to DVD. His film debut came in 2005 with the semi-autobiographical “Get Rich or Die Tryin” and in 2008 he starred is the “Righteous Kill” movie.

All his projections indicate that he should stick to his day job, although it seems that he is committed to Hollywood stardom.

Related posts:

1. 50 Cent Liquid Diet Weight Loss, Curtis Jackson 50 Cent Prepairing for Things Fall Apart Movie
2. 50 Cent Massive Weight Loss Pictures
3. 50 Cent Looking Horrible in New Look

Fisker Automotive will be building about 70 to 100 Karma plug-in hybrid sedan this year for testing purposes, a major investor in the company said.

“These will be tested internally, crash tested and used for other testing purposes,” Ray Lane, managing partner at U.S. venture capital fund Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers told Reuters. “Some of them will be given to customers for testing purposes as well, out in the real road.”

Lane said that Fisker will start mass production of the Karma sedan in February with a planned 15,000 units annually. Fisker also has plans to do a convertible version of the Karma shortly after the sedan hits roads.

Click here for more news on the Fisker Karma.

Refresher: Power comes from Fisker’s Q-DRIVE system, which is made up of two 201-hp electric motors that are powered by a lithium-ion battery pack. That allows the 2010 Karma to travel up to 50 miles without the use of any gasoline. A generator attached to a 260-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter Ecotec direct injection gasoline engine by General Motors provides an extended range of up to 300 miles. 0 to 60 mph comes in 5.8 seconds with a top speed of 125 mph.

2011 Fisker Karma:

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Reuters

The 2011 Volkswagen Jetta should make its debut later this summer and arrive in dealerships shortly after. However, the popular fuel-sipping Jetta TDI may be delayed until early 2011. A Volkswagen official told the guys over at Inside Line is expected to show up a little late. No reason was provided for the delay.

The 2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI is expected to carry the same direct-injected 4-cylinder diesel making 140-hp and 236 lb-ft of torque. It will be available with either a 6-speed manual or the company’s DSG dual-clutch transmission.

The new Jetta will get most of its design cues from the Volkswagen New Compact Coupe Hybrid Concept that was unveiled at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.

Spy Shots: 2011 Volkswagen Jetta:

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Inside Line

Filed under: Spy Photos, Paris Motor Show, Ford

The Ford Mondeo is due for a mid-cycle refresh for the 2011 model year and all signs point to a debut at the Paris Motor Show this September. But ahead of its big reveal, spy photographers have caught the new Mondeo out in the open, and while the basic shape hasn’t changed, there’s something far more interesting under the hood.

The major stylistic upgrades are up front, where the Mondeo’s fascia picks up a few cues from the Fiesta and the 2012 Focus, including a larger lower grille and slimmer upper section. The front foglamps have been re-shaped and a strip of LED running lamps tie the design into Ford’s B-segment hatch.

At the back, the tailgate gets a subtle re-shaping above the license plate pocket and it appears the lights have been modified under the camo tape. The most important changes will be in the engine compartment, where the Mondeo will get the new 2.0-liter Ecoboost inline-four and the Powershift dual-clutch transmission. Expect all the details to be revealed shortly ahead of the Paris show this fall.

[Source: Secret New Cars]

Spy Shots: 2011 Ford Mondeo coming with 2.0L Ecoboost originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 May 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sources have told Japanese magazine Best Car that the release of the Toyota FT-86 sports car has been delayed by two years. That means we won’t see Toyota and Subaru’s rear-wheel-drive baby until 2013. What’s the reason for the delay?

Apparently a lot of Toyota fans have shown a sense of frustration with the design of the FT-86 Concept. Toyota designers may head back to the drawing board to make a couple of changes.

Also, Toyota feels that a launch date of 2011 may be too premature with the global economic slowdown effecting sales, which we’re not to sure about. Why wouldn’t you want a sub-$20,000 rear-wheel-drive sports car that pushes 200-hp in a time where you’re constantly staring at your bank account.

Click here for more news on the Toyota FT-86 Concept.

Refresher: Inspired by the sporty 1980s Corolla AE86, the production version of the FT-86 is reported to be powered by a 200-hp 2.0L boxer Subaru engine sending power to the rear-wheels. Prices are set to start above $20,000.

Toyota FT-86 Concept:

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Best Car (via 7Tune)

U.S. authorities issued a tsunami warning today in the Pacific, after registering a 5.2 degree magnitude earthquake in Vanuatu, near Australia.

The island of Vanuatu, suffered earthquakes of 7.2, 5.7 and 5.2 degrees on the Richter scale. U.S. officials canceled the alert issued tsuanmi after three consecutive earthquakes.

The warning of the Tsunami Warning Center in the Pacific, part of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was issued at 17.39 GMT, just twenty minutes after the earthquake. The three strong earthquakes occurred between 5:14 and 5:45 pm.

The alert had affected the coast of Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia, but was canceled shortly after the realization that the earthquake has not caused a tsunami.

The quake, of magnitude 7.2 degrees on the Richter scale, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, occurred at a depth of 35 kilometers.

The epicenter was registered in the Republic of Vanuatu, 210 km north-northwest of the town of Luganville, and 340 miles sursuroeste of Lata.

Vanuatu authorities clarified that in the main island has not felt the earthquake and, therefore, hasn’t caused any damage or injury  in the area.

Related posts:

1. Authorities rule out Tsunami fear after 7.2 Quake near Vanuatu
2. 7.1 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Solomon Islands, No Tsunami Alert
3. False Tsunami Alarm For Vanuatu 7.2 Earthquake

Michael Geist points us to a report covering a recent panel discussion at the Future of Music Coalition policy day, about ACTA. You can see the video of the whole panel discussion here:

The session kicks off with U.S. Copyright Office official Steven Tepp defending ACTA, by saying right from the outset, “Quite candidly, we’re in the midst of a worldwide epidemic of copyright piracy.” What kind of epidemic? Well, he uses that old line about how organized crime groups and terrorists are being funded by copyright infringement — a claim that the industry keeps making, but which makes little sense. Even if it were true that some crime operations are selling bootleg DVDs and such, aren’t they under the same, if not more, pressure from unauthorized internet file sharing?

But, even more to the point, tossing out the “organized crime” and “terrorists” claim (never with any actual evidence, of course) is a pure moral panic. If organized crime groups and terrorists are a problem, go after them for their organized crime and terrorism efforts. Don’t claim that we need to put in place restrictive copyright laws that impact everyone just because law enforcement is unable to stop these organized crime groups. And it’s worth pointing out while Tepp claimed this is all about organized criminals and terrorists… pretty much all of his comments following that had nothing whatsoever to do with either, but were more directed towards file sharing.

Tepp’s next point is to back this up by quoting the widely laughed at (even by Tepp’s own bosses) USTR Special 301 report, which has no actual methodology, other than to repeat whatever complaints are made by the entertainment industry and the pharma industry, without any effort to back that up with facts or data. That’s not evidence. That’s just US companies begging the government for protectionist policies against competitors. Amusingly, Tepp won’t even name the countries he’s talking about, so that people can point out the mistakes or problems in the USTR’s report. He refers to “one Latin American country” or “one Western European country,” by which he means Spain, but never says that — perhaps because the USTR’s report on Spain is misleading and not accurate. For example, he claims that in Spain (er this “Western European country”) “internet piracy is no longer prosecuted and that government seems to be moving in a number of wrong directions with regards to online enforcement.”

That’s insulting to the Spanish and blatantly incorrect. Spanish copyright law has recognized that private, non-commercial file sharing is not the same thing as commercial counterfeiting. It’s really quite misleading and disingenuous for Tepp to kick off this talk by saying he’s not talking about internet downloading but about organized crime and terrorists… and then just a couple sentences later, complain about Spain not punishing kids for downloading some songs for their iPods. Furthermore, the big complaint about Spain is that it properly recognizes that a search engine or a tool should not be blamed for the actions of users. The US used to believe that too. But does Tepp explain any of this? Nope. He makes it out like the Spanish gov’t is supporting terrorists. This is blatantly untrue and misleading. And, honestly, claiming that Spain’s decision to create copyright laws that make sense is the country going in “the wrong direction”? That’s insulting.

However, it does show how the whole ACTA debate is being distorted by the industry. They’ll claim over and over again that it’s about stopping organized crime and terrorists, but then immediately assume that people doing file sharing online should get lumped in with those people.

From there he goes on to pull out the usual bogus (and legally false) claim that these actions “rob” the United States. Uh, what? If the US is being robbed, charge the perpetrators with theft, and move on. A government official should not be making such legally incorrect statements to support a policy. This is not about anyone being robbed. This is about countries that have made reasonable determinations on how copyright law should be applied. And many folks have figured out how to work successfully within those legal regimes. That a few US companies don’t want to adjust shouldn’t lead the US gov’t to forcing other governments to change their laws.

And then, the kicker. Like Ron Kirk recently claimed, Tepp says that now that the ACTA document has been released, it’s proved all the “wild internet rumors” to be “false.” Um. Except that’s not true. The details showed that there are massive problems with ACTA, in that it only exports the restrictions with none of the exceptions. While it is true, technically, that it is “consistent with US law,” today, that ignores the fact that US law is constantly changing, and ACTA would lock in aspects of the law, without allowing Congress to make important and necessary changes for fear of “not living up to our international obligations.” Fixing problems with current case law (not statutory law) on what constitutes “contributory” infringement? ACTA limits that. That’s a huge problem that many people pointed out in those “wild internet rumors” and it was proved 100% true.

Later on Tepp makes even more bizarre claims (amusingly, right after he slips up and calls it a “treaty” despite all the efforts of US negotiators to make sure they never called it a treaty). He says that ACTA has no intention of changing whatever balance each individual country makes in terms of copyright sanctions or exceptions. He specifically says:

“ACTA very clearly, from day one, has never been about changing the balance of copyright law. It doesn’t talk about rights. It doesn’t talk about exceptions… ACTA’s just saying, whatever the infringement provisions and exceptions you have in your law, are up to you (consistent with all those other treaties we’ve all negotiated and agreed to), and you should have some minimum type enforcement actions available so that the remedies for violating those rights… have some meaning… So to say that ACTA is exporting without exceptions is to ignore that it’s also exporting without rights. It’s not talking about rights or exceptions.”

That’s blatantly untrue. The provisions on secondary liability do exactly that — increase restrictions, without corresponding exceptions. And if it’s not changing what any country does, then what’s the point of the document in the first place? To say that it’s just setting a “minimum type [of] enforcement” is to say that it’s requiring specific copyright sanctions, which was exactly the complaint. Furthermore, the idea that this is needed to make sure enforcement “has some meaning” is again incredibly insulting to the decisions on copyright law that those other countries have made — such as Spain’s decision that personal, non-commercial copying should not be treated like for-profit, commercial copying.

Tepp is playing sneaky word games. When people complained about how ACTA exports enforcement provisions without the exceptions, Tepp focuses on the fact it doesn’t export rights, but ignores the enforcement provisions — which is what people were concerned about in the first place!

Anyway, he goes on to try to address the secondary liability claim, first by mocking the example that was brought up earlier of the Google execs found guilty of criminal privacy violations:

In terms of secondary liability issue, this is another red herring. The Google case in Italy, that happened entirely without ACTA. How is that possible? How could something bad happen without ACTA?

Once again, blatantly misleading. The example of the Google execs was used to show how secondary liability could create harm for American companies, by highlighting troubling secondary liability rulings in a different realm — in this case privacy law. It wasn’t saying that it was directly an example of what would happen with ACTA, but highlighting how secondary liability, as a concept, can lead to bad results. Tepp either feigned ignorance or was actually ignorant of the fact that this example was just showing secondary liability problems in privacy law, to suggest how those problems might also show up in copyright law. Mocking such a serious problem with secondary liability does not inspire confidence that Tepp or the US Copyright Office has even thought through the consequences of secondary liability.

That’s scary.

Tepp continues:

ACTA doesn’t mandate every jot and till of secondary liability. It sets forth the basic approach to it in the US and proposes that as standards to follow elsewhere. Could countries go beyond that? Sure. Have countries already gone beyond that already? Sure. Does ACTA require it? No… This is something ACTA does not require…

Um. What? Section 2.18.3 of ACTA, as it stands, appears to require third party liability (i.e., “secondary liability”) and the related footnote to that section defines it pretty clearly:

For greater certainty, the Parties understand that third party liability means liability for any person who authorizes for a direct financial benefit, induces through or by conduct directed to promoting infringement, or knowingly and materially aids any act of copyright or related rights infringement by another.

Once again, Tepp is being misleading. He’s pointing out that ACTA sets the floor for secondary liability based on what’s in the US, but totally ignores the fact that secondary liability for copyright in the US is a highly dynamic area. It’s not in the statute anywhere — a law that tried to put it there did not pass — and really was only defined by the Supreme Court just a few years ago in a manner that many people find problematic. If ACTA sets that as the floor, then it limits the US from being able to fix the problems with the Supreme Court’s definition. At the same time, note that Tepp only talks about going “beyond” what’s in the US today. He doesn’t seem to realize that many countries find the US’s view of secondary liability as already having gone way too far.

He’s right that countries can already go further, and some do, on their own, but that does not minimize the fact that encouraging greater secondary liability will likely come back to haunt many US companies.

Thankfully, Michael Petricone from the Consumer Electronics Association responded to Tepp’s statements by making many of the same points I’m making. Later he highlights many of the other problems with ACTA, including the lack of Congressional oversight, and the failure to involve stakeholders and the public (Tepp, amazingly, says that the process has been open to anyone who wanted in). A great moment, about halfway through, is when Petricone challenges Tepp, by saying that if he’s right that “there’s no ‘there’ there,” then “why the secrecy?” Tepp’s response? Basically “that’s not my department.”

A few other points:

• Richard Bengloff, from A2IM (representing independent labels), admits that they decided to support ACTA despite not having seen it. He says that someone from the RIAA “briefed him” on the background and that was enough for them to support it wholeheartedly. That’s scary. Considering that the specific language choices are really important for the kind of impact ACTA will have, to say that an entire organization was in full support of the document, without even knowing what it really said, is stunning and a huge question market for A2IM. Why would you trust an organization that blindly accepts an important document it hasn’t seen?
• Later on Bengloff makes this hilarious statement: “We’re going to support anything of any type that stops this crime.” And, of course, he emphasizes the word crime. Like Tepp before him, he is deliberately mixing certain criminal activities and civil infringement for personal use as if they are the same thing. And, he’s being woefully uninformed if he thinks that ACTA will actually do anything to actually stop file sharing. He’s doing the labels he represents a great disservice.
• Petricone does an excellent job responding to Bengloff on this point, noting that it’s ridiculous to say you’ll support “any” action designed to stop file sharing, when you don’t look at the wider consequences of those actions — including on other industries and the public at large.
• Petricone also highlights how the entertainment industry has been blurring issues by lumping copyright in with counterfeiting, saying that if the agreement focused on actual counterfeiting, there wouldn’t be so many complaints about the proposed agreement.
• Malini Aisola, from KEI, reminds everyone how silly it was that the USTR wouldn’t share the documents earlier, despite FOIA requests, claiming that keeping the documents secret was a matter of national security (a position that still has never been explained).
• Tepp is incredibly condescending to Aisola, when she expresses concerns about some of the language in the text and how it will impact seizure of legal generic drugs. He reads off a press release from ACTA negotiators that says ACTA won’t impact that issue. As if the press release of what ACTA negotiators say the agreement will do has any impact on what the agreement actually says. Aisola has a list of text KEI would like included in the document, as a “consumer Bill of Rights” to ensure that what’s in the press release is true, and Tepp shoots her down by saying that such agreements don’t usually contain that kind of text. He says we should only discuss what’s directly in ACTA, and if it violates those principles — again, dismissing the idea that exceptions are important to making sure enforcement is not overly draconian.
• A final point from Bengloff, equally as jaw dropping as his earlier comments: “If we don’t stop piracy, we won’t be in the music business because there will be no more creation.” Yes, that’s why more music is being created today than ever before, and there are more people making money from music than ever before. This argument that without strong copyright law there will be no more creation is beyond laughable. Lots of folks have figured out business models that work without involving copyright law. Pretending those models don’t exist is blatantly ridiculous. You would think that, as an industry association for independent labels, A2IM would be on the forefront of encouraging these better business models, but instead they’re sucking up to the RIAA demanding protectionism for the same copyright laws that have allowed the major labels to be the gatekeepers in the market, at the expense of indie labels.

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