The Force was with — whom?

Lucasfilm Ltd. and a British prop designer both claimed victory Thursday in a legal battle over the iconic Stormtrooper uniforms from the “Star Wars” films.

George Lucas’s film company had sued Andrew Ainsworth, who sculpted the Stormtrooper helmets for the first “Star Wars” movie in 1977.

The High Court judge, Anthony Mann, ruled that Mr. Ainsworth violated Lucasfilm’s American copyright by selling replica Stormtrooper uniforms through his Web site to customers in America.

But Judge Mann refused to enforce in Britain a $20 million judgment Lucasfilm won against Mr. Ainsworth in a California court in 2006. The judge said Mr. Ainsworth’s American sales, which totaled between $50,000 and $60,000, were not significant enough to make him susceptible to American jurisdiction.

The judge also rejected a claim against Mr. Ainsworth under British law, saying English copyright over the outfits had expired. Mr. Ainsworth’s lawyer, Seamus Andrew, said the ruling meant that Mr. Ainsworth was now free to sell his replicas everywhere except America.

However, in a win for Mr. Lucas’ side, Mr. Mann also rejected a counterclaim by Mr. Ainsworth that the copyright rested with him.

“We won,” Lucasfilm’s lawyer, Mark Owen, said. “At the end of the day there is an order that Mr. Ainsworth infringed our copyright, and the next stage of the case will be discussing remedies for that.”

The judge said a hearing would be held in the autumn to determine the next steps in the case — setting the stage for further battle over the molded white uniforms worn by warriors of the evil Galactic Empire.