Alesis owner inMusic ordered to pay Roland $4.6m for infringing electronic drum kit patents

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Roland says that it “will continue to vigorously enforce its intellectual property rights”

Alesis Nitro Mesh kit on a rug on a wooden floor
(Image credit: Future)

The US District Court for the Southern District of Florida has ordered Alesis’s parent company inMusic to pay Roland $4.6m in compensation for infringing several of the Japanese manufacturer’s electronic drum and electronic cymbal patents.

Roland’s patent infringement lawsuit was filed back in August 2016, but it’s taken until now for a judgement to be made. The action was brought in relation to electronic drums and cymbals sold under the Alesis brand in the United States.

In a statement, Roland says: “On November 17, 2022, the jury rendered a verdict finding that all five of Roland’s patents which inMusic claimed to be invalid were found to be valid, and all four of Roland's patents which Roland asserted were infringed were found be infringed by inMusic.

“On November 18, 2022, the jury rendered a damages verdict finding damages in the amount of US$ 4.6 million (about 650 million yen) to Roland as compensation for inMusic’s infringement. On November 21, 2022, the court rendered a final judgement upholding the jury's verdicts.

“Roland will continue to vigorously enforce its intellectual property rights.”

MusicRadar has reached out to inMusic for comment.

Ben Rogerson
Ben Rogerson
Deputy Editor

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.