A retired American professor has succeeded in triggering an investigation into her claims to own a patent on technology vital to a host of modern technologies.

Gertrude Neumark Rothschild claims a veritable rogues’ gallery of modern electronics companies have infringed her patent on LEDs in products including “mobile devices, instrument panels, billboards, traffic lights, HD DVD players (e.g., Blu-ray disc players [sic]), and data storage devices”, according to a statement from the US International Trade Commission.

The ITC, a federal body which looks after US trade issues, voted to investigate the claim last week. In total, 30 companies are involved, including Nokia, Pioneer, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba. Rothschild has already settled a similar claim against Philips (Forbes).

If Rothschild is successful in her claim products from these companies could be banned from the US.

ARS Technica notes:

There’s little to indicate that Dr. Rothschild has decided to launch such an endeavor as a means of commemorating her imminent octogenarian status. This isn’t the first time, however, that the good doctor has filed suit against major companies she felt were engaged in patent infringement. She previously filed suit against both Toyoda Gosei and Philips Lumined over their alleged infringement of US Patent No. 4,904,618 (“Process for Doping Crystals of Wide Band-Gap Semiconductors”) and 5,252,499 (“Wide Band-Gap Semiconductors Having Low Bipolar Resistivity and Method of Formation”). The suits were eventually settled out of court.