Judge Rejects Bid to Block Sale of Disk Drives : Technology: The request by a rival of Western Digital is denied pending a trial on allegations of patent violations.

Western Digital Corp. won a round in a legal battle when a federal judge on Monday denied a request by a rival manufacturer that Western Digital stop selling a line of disk drives.

Conner Peripherals Inc., based in San Jose, filed a suit in March against Western Digital alleging violation of its computer disk drive technology. Disk drives, which store data on personal computers, account for the bulk of each company’s sales. Western Digital countersued, alleging that Conner was the one violating patents.

“It’s an initial victory for us,” said Robert Blair, spokesman at Western Digital’s Irvine headquarters.

Conner officials could not be reached for comment.

The stakes are high. In its lawsuit, Conner said that more than $500 million worth of the particular line of disk drives would be sold during 1993, and another $1 billion worth in 1994.

The patents in question were among those that Conner bought in 1992 from bankrupt disk drive maker PrairieTek Corp. in Colorado.

Monday’s ruling by Judge Ronald Whyte in federal court in San Jose denied Conner’s request to stop Western Digital from making the drives until a formal trial can be held on the allegations.