WASHINGTON - A U.S. trade panel that hears patent disputes said it would investigate allegations that Toyota Motor Corp infringed patented technology owned by Paice LLC to make hybrid cars.

The International Trade Commission said on Tuesday that Paice had asked it to order Japan's Toyota to stop making the cars and to bar imports with the fuel-saving gasoline/electric technology.

Toyota Motor North America and Toyota Motor Sales were also named in the suit.

No one from Bonita Springs, Florida-based Paice or Toyota was immediately available for comment.

Toyota is the world's largest automaker and the global leader in mass-market hybrid car sales, with the Prius its signature model. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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