A U.S. trade panel on Tuesday launched a probe into certain sintered rare earth magnets, methods of making same and related products from various regions after a company alleged its patents were infringed.

The products at issue in this investigation are rare earth magnets and products incorporating rare earth magnets, such as motors, audio speaker, headphones, cordless tools, computer hard drives, and golf ball markers, said the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in a statement.

Hitachi Metals, Ltd. of Japan and its subsidiary in America filed a complaint last month with USITC, claiming those products violated the section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 by infringing their patents and requesting the agency to issue an exclusion order, cease and desist orders against those products.

The USITC said it had identified 29 companies as respondents home and abroad, including four firms in China and one in Germany.

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 patent or registered trademark infringement, and also involve misappropriation of trade secrets, trade dress infringement, passing off, false advertising, and violation of the antitrust laws.