A U.S. trade panel on Friday launched a probe into certain electronic devices from various regions including China after the patent owner alleged their rights were infringed.

The products at issue are devices with retractable USB connectors such as cameras, camcorders, digital audio recorders, MP3 players, wireless modems, and flash memory drives, said the U. S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in a statement.

Anu IP LLC of Longview based in the U.S. state of Texas filed a complaint with USITC on April 18, 2012, alleging the importation of those products violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. It requested the USITC to issue an exclusion order, stopping and desisting orders against those products.

The USITC said it had identified 45 respondents home and abroad, including China's Huawei Technology Company.

The trade agency is scheduled to set a target date for completing the investigation within 45 days after institution of the probe. If the complaint is approved, it will ban importation of those products.

Section 337 investigations focus on allegations of a host of violations such as patent or registered trademark infringement or concerning the antitrust laws.

(Source: Xinhua)