Apple just scored a huge victory over Samsung and its 10-inch Galaxy Tab in a California Federal court. A judge ruled that Apple had made a “strong” claim that the Samsung tablet had copied its iPad design. This war has been waging since April of last year, when Apple sued Samsung, claiming the other company had ripped off its iPhone and iPad.

“Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly, by flooding the market with infringing products,” U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh wrote in her decision, according to the Associated Press. During an earlier hearing, she had called the two tablets “virtually indistinguishable.”

In response, Samsung is all, “Whatever! We have other tablets we can sell, anyway.” It told the AP that it doesn’t think the ruling will “have a significant impact on our business operations,” because of all the other stuff it has to offer.

Although this is a nice win for Apple, it’s part of a huge patent battle between the two companies over their smartphones and tablets. Samsung’s Galaxy S III is nipping hard on the iPad’s heels, with a larger screen and a voice-controlled system to rival the iPhone 4S voice assistant, Siri.

Stores currently with Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets in stock will be able to sell off what they already have. The 10.1 II version of the tablet won’t be in trouble, as its design is the result of a patent-related ban in Germany.

Apple wins injunction against Samsung Galaxy Tab [Washington Post]

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