DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A district court judge on Friday approved the $179.95 million settlement in the Iowa class-action lawsuit against Microsoft Corp.

The approval pays the attorneys who brought the suit seven years ago $75 million in fees and costs, an amount legal experts said is likely a record in the state.

Polk County District Court Judge Scott Rosenberg concluded that the settlement was fair and reasonable and said he would enter an order Friday finalizing it.

Des Moines attorney Roxanne Conlin and Richard Hagstrom, an attorney with a Minneapolis law firm, filed suit against Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft, claiming the company engaged in anticompetitive conduct that caused customers to pay more for software than they would have if there had been competition.

The lawsuit initially sought more than $330 million on behalf of Iowans who bought Microsoft computer software between 1994 and 2006.

The settlement finalized Friday was announced in April.

Individuals who file claims will be paid cash while companies and government agencies will get vouchers to buy computer equipment.

Customers who bought Microsoft Windows or MS-DOS can claim $16 for each copy. Microsoft Excel is worth $25 a copy and Microsoft Office, $29 a copy. For Word, Works and Home Essential software, consumers can claim $10 a copy, according to the agreement.

Conlin said 63,000 individuals, 740 businesses and 40 government agencies have filed claims.

The state of Iowa, which she said will file a large claim, is gathering information to file.

Claimants must file by Dec. 14 and should get their money by Christmas, Conlin said.

Microsoft agreed to give half of the unclaimed cash, and all the vouchers that remain unclaimed, to Iowa's public schools for computers and software.

The company also is providing an additional $1 million for the Iowa Department of Education for administration of the funds.

John O'Connell, a consultant for the Department of Education, said the money will be of great help to schools, particularly those in rural areas.

"This comes at a very opportune time for the state and the students of Iowa," he said.

He said federal money for computers has been cut from $3.5 million a year to $1.3 million, which is spread among 364 school districts and 483,000 students.

State funding also has been cut, and money that is spent is distributed on a per pupil basis, which affects rural schools most severely.

As part of the settlement, Microsoft also has donated $1 million to Iowa Legal Aid, which will be spent on a program aimed at reducing domestic violence.

The added money will focus on victims in rural areas and those who speak limited English, said Patrick McClintock, deputy director of program administration for Iowa Legal Aid.

Conlin justified the request for $75 million by saying 150 lawyers, clerks and legal assistants worked 117,000 hours on the case. The law firms advanced $7.8 million with no guarantee of repayment, she said. In addition to those expenses, she said the payment includes $67.2 million in fees.

The case generated 25 million pages of documents, 286 discovery requests and three trips to the Iowa Supreme Court, Conlin said.

Microsoft Attorney Rich Wallis said after facing numerous lawsuits in state courts the company made a business decision to settle several cases to "put these ancient allegations behind us and focus on building the next generation of great software."

Microsoft has faced 206 class-action lawsuits across the United States. The company said 108 were consolidated in a federal antitrust case and 96 remained in state courts.

Most were dismissed or settled before trial.

The Iowa case was one of last cases against the company to make it to court. Another is in Mississippi.