Apple paid about $60m (£36m) to outside law firm to fight patent battle against rival Samsung Electronics in a California federal court.
Both major tech firms are involved in litigation over intellectual property in several countries and have faced trial twice in the last two years in the California federal court, with Apple being awarded about $930m in damages by the panel of judges.
Apple reportedly paid Morrison & Foerster law firm nearly $60m in November 2013, which does not involve lawyers who bill less than $100,000 on the case.
Apple’s attorneys told Reuters: "Awarding fees to Apple ‘flows quite naturally’ from the jury’s willfulness verdict as well as Samsung’s extensive record of willful, deliberate, and calculated decisions to copy the iPhone, in blatant disregard for Apple’s IP."
In August 2012, Apple received record payouts of its kind, following a jury ruling that Samsung infringed six of its patents.
Apple blamed its competitor of massive and wilful infringement of its designs and technology for smartphones and tablets.
However, several surveys revealed that Samsung dominated Apple in the global smartphone market during the Q3.
