WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The U.S. International Trade Commission will open a patent violation probe into Toshiba Corp.'s flash-memory chips and systems, and products containing them, the ITC said in a statement Thursday.

The investigation is based on a complaint filed by Lexar Media Inc. of Fremont, Calif., against Toshiba Corp. of Japan and its two U.S. units -- Toshiba America Inc. of New York and Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. of Irvine, Calif. -- on April 11.

In the complaint, Lexar alleges that the Toshiba products infringe on its patents and demands that sale of the products be suspended in the United States, based on Section 337 of the 1930 Tariff Act.