The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is launching an investigation into mobile devices made by Samsung and other smartphone makers, over an alleged patent violation. The probe follows a complaint filed by Creative Technology and Creative Labs that several handset makers have infringed on their patent, the ITC said in a statement.

The accused vendors are ZTE, Sony, Samsung, LG Electronics, Lenovo, Motorola Mobility, HTC and Blackberry.

"The products at issue in the investigation are portable electronic devices, such as smartphones, with the capability of playing stored media files selected by a user from a hierarchical display," ITC said.

The trade panel said it has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case, and will decide a target date for completing investigation within 45 days after the institution of the investigation.