The U.S. International Trade Commission said Tuesday it will investigate whether Hitachi Ltd. and three other makers violated patents for semiconductor memory devices made by Mosel Vitelic Corp. of Taiwan.
The commission said it is launching the probe based on a petition filed by Mosel, a maker of dynamic random access memory microchips.
The probe will cover memory devices sold in the United States by Hitachi, Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc., Elpida Memory Inc. and Elpida Memory (USA) Inc.
Elpida Memory is a Tokyo-based joint venture involving Hitachi and NEC Corp., another semiconductor manufacturer.