Qualcomm Inc. lost two pretrial skirmishes on Friday in its patent and antitrust battle against Apple Inc.—in just about every way imaginable.

U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel of San Diego repeatedly found that Qualcomm had misstated the law, overreached with its arguments or was just plain wrong as he refused to block Apple from suing Qualcomm in foreign jurisdictions or to order the resumption of royalty payments while the litigation plays out.

Qualcomm had argued at an Aug. 18 hearing that its financial “house is on fire” because Apple and its contract manufacturers have shut off some $4 billion a year in royalty payments. But Curiel wasn't swayed. “The court is mindful of the stakes presented by this suit,” he wrote in one of two orders. “The scales of equity, however, do not bend for dollar amounts alone no matter how great.”

Maybe most troubling for Qualcomm, Curiel strongly hinted—without formally deciding—that he will reject Qualcomm's request to adjudicate a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) royalty rate for Apple on Qualcomm's global portfolio of standard-essential cellphone patents (SEPs).