Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) continues to use litigation as an effective way to block its competition.

Yesterday, a federal judge issued an injunction against sales of Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1 tablet in the U.S.

The Samsung tablets, which use Google‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system, have been well received by industry critics, Reuters noted.

Apple sued Samsung over the tablets, claiming that the South Korean electronics giant improperly copied the iPad’s design when making the Galaxy Tab.

The order came after a federal appeals court told U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh to review her earlier denial of an injunction against Samsung.

Apple will be required to post a $2.6 million bond against any damages Samsung could claim if the injunction is later overturned.

Legal observers called the injunction “extraordinary,” but noted that the issue in question applied narrowly to design patents and might not extend more broadly to software and technology patents under examination in other Apple lawsuits.

Samsung is expected to appeal the injunction. The company argues that Apple’s claimed design patents are to generic to be enforceable.

During the first-quarter of this year, Apple sold 13.6 million iPads, compared to 1.6 million tablets sold by Samsung. The tablet market has drawn new competition with

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) unveiling its new Surface tablets last week and Google expected to debut its own tablet soon.

Apple shares rose fractionally in Wednesday mid-day trading.