A FEDERAL judge ordered wireless giant Qualcomm to stop selling data chips that infringe on patents belonging to its smaller rival Broadcom. US district judge James Selna issued the ruling on Monday, the latest in a series of legal victories Broadcom scored over Qualcomm in 2007 over the rights to technology for cell phones. The three patented chips use WCDMA technology, a small but fast-growing part of the wireless market used mostly in American TMobile and AT&T phones.

Selna ruled that Qualcomm can continue to sell other disputed chips in the United States until January 2009, but must pay royalties on those chips, which use a different technology called EVDO and are used on the Verizon and Sprint networks in America. He also allowed Qualcomm to use a patented Broadcom walkie-talkie technology until January 2009. Broadcom representatives were happy with the New Year’s Eve ruling despite what appeared to be a split decision that stemmed from a lawsuit filed in 2005. “The ruling is very close to what we asked for,” said David Rosmann, Broadcom’s vice- president for intellectual-property litigation.