Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) lost a patent ruling against rival Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM). That was some time ago. It prevents Qualcomm from selling certain chips in the US. That hurts its profits and makes its handset partners very unhappy.

Things got worse for the wireless chip company. An appeals court turned down its request to temporarily start selling the chips again. According to The Wall Street Journal, "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, without providing details, ruled Tuesday that Qualcomm had not met its burden of proof to win a stay pending appeal of the injunction."

Qualcomm's bad patent habits have it in court cases against its largest customer, Nokia (NYSE: NOK), as well as Broadcom. That creates a nightmare for shareholders.

Although handset sales may be slowing a bit. Qualcomm has a wonderful business providing chips and software to the industry. That franchise took its stock from $15 less than five years ago to $53 in mid-2006. Disputes with customers and rivals have helped push that share price down to under $38.

With the new court ruling,Qualcom's share price is likely to stay down a lot longer.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.