A US district court ordered Apple to pay $502.8 million to VirnetX for infringing intellectual property relating to a VPN, as a patent row with the licensing company rumbled on, Bloomberg reported.

The media outlet reported the ruling was associated with newer versions of the VPN feature and covered access technology.

Apple paid VirnetX $454 million earlier this year after a previous ruling in the licensing company’s favour.

Bloomberg cited an Apple representative as saying the company intended to appeal the latest decision, claiming the case was focused on patents which were not core to the operation of its products and were found to be “invalid by the patent office”.

The company also stated the move supressed innovation and harmed consumers.

VirnetX began legal action against Apple in 2010, accusing it of breaching patents covering secure networks and communication links.

Previous court rulings were used as the basis for a class action lawsuit by consumers which alleged Apple intentionally sabotaged its FaceTime video calling feature on older iPhones.

The company offered $18 million to settle the consumer action in April.