DJ / Inventor dubbed Thomas Edison of Techno
. After 5 years of legal effort, Justin Kent has been awarded a patent on the System for Converting Turntable Motion to MIDI Data by the USPTO. This patent finally puts to rest the question of who invented the world’s first MIDI Turntable… but raises new questions surrounding the future of turntable technology.
Kent, president of EJ Enterprises Worldwide and inventor of the MIDI Turntable sees this milestone as an opportunity. “I’m looking forward to working with the right partners to get this new style of spinning into the hands of the world’s most innovative DJs… and seeing what they can do with it. It’s been over 5 years since I invented it. Looking back that far, to the summer before 9/11, it seems like such a different time – finally receiving this patent has helped me understand the value of persistence in the face of hardship… and reminded me that hard work does pay off. This gives me hope for the future.”Kent developed the technology as an undergrad at MIT, building a prototype and filing a provisional patent the summer after his graduation. The hardware system allows DJs and clubs to interface their existing turntables to other MIDI devices. When used with EJ Enterprises’ Scratch TV® software, the system allows so called “EJs” to mix, scratch, and edit video clips in a new and exciting way – in real time, with a flick of their fingers.
