US Launches Patent Probe

The U.S. International Trade Commission has voted to launch an investigation into 30 companies on possible patent infringements. Included in the investigation were Sony, Hitachi, Nokia, Motorola, LG Electronics, and Matsushita Electric Industrial. According to the ITC statement released Thursday, the products involved are short-wavelength light-emitting diodes and laser diodes used in such electronics as handheld mobile devices, traffic lights, billboards, high-definition DVD players, and data storage devices. The investigation is the result of a complaint filed in February by Gertrude Neumark Rothschild, a Professor Emeritus of Columbia University, who requested that the ITC issue exclusion and cease and desist orders, blocking imports into the United States of a range of products which allegedly infringe on her patents.