BTW, just understand now, 1ply and 3 ply mesh have no patents, only 2 ply, Drum tec can sell these in USA, but not the 2 ply are patents from Roland, never knew until now.
And who has this 2 ply mesh head patent? It isn't Roland. Maybe REMO, but then why are they making 1 ply heads? Do you have a patent number?
not sure, but for use for one of more U.S. PAT below, 1 ply and 3 ply from others, maybe to prevents patents and more option..
6,121,538
6,271, 468
6,756,535
6,921, 857
7, 386, 135
None of those patent numbers are for
"mesh heads". Those patents cover a
"electronic drum system that uses a mesh head".
I've explained this early on when the whole patent issue came up. Roland states they do not have a patent on mesh heads. Those patents are for a "system". Their words, not mine. Roland likes to say they don't have a patent on a mesh head, but they do have a patent on a drum system that includes a 2 ply mesh head. Again, this is a very fine legal line. There is a difference between
"mesh head patent" &
"edrum system that includes a 2 ply mesh head"It is this legal line that Roland uses to protect against any competition that tries to sell a mesh head (of any kind, not just 2 ply) edrum. They (Roland) will say it doesn't matter if it is 1 ply, 2 ply, 3 ply, 56 ply, They will claim that their patent covers all edrum "systems" (key word) and there for violates their patent. And at the same time they protect against drum head companies from making 2 ply mesh heads because Roland claims that too is covered in their "system" patent. Yet at the same time they claim no patent on mesh heads. That's because you can't just patent mesh head of any kind, because it has already been done. The question is, Does Roland have the right to claim patent protection on 2 ply mesh heads? I don't think so, but I don't have the money to find out.
Do you see the game there? If Roland says you violate our patent and we will sue. You can believe all day long that they are wrong, but they will put you out of business (through legal fees) before you can find out.
So, this means a person should be able to make and sell 2 ply mesh heads or they can make edrums (without mesh heads), but they can not make both at the same time.
The only patents that exists for mesh heads are:
US4362081A (from 1980)
US729936A (from 1902)
Patents only have a 20 year life. Roland's own patent (6,121,538) is from 1996. That's the Priority date which is when the patent protection is stated to start but, that too can sometimes be challenged in court. Heck, the patent wasn't granted until 1999. I'm sure there is a legal way to say the Priority date is more like 1998. Which would mean Roland has one more year on their patent (1998 - 2018, that's twenty years).
