Samsung may help Apple save $533 million

Samsung Electronics may end up saving arch nemesis Apple about $533 million. That's how much Apple was told to pay after a jury in February said its iTunes service infringed patents owned by Texas licensing firm Smartflash. This week, Samsung, which is being sued over the same technology, convinced US regulators to review whether two of Smartflash's patents should have been issued in the first place.

If a review board at the US Patent and Trademark Office tosses those patents, it will not only benefit Samsung but also Apple — the company it spent four years battling over smartphone technology. "Can Apple put off paying any damages until there’s resolution of the Samsung case?" said Justin Oliver, who heads Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto's office for contested patent office proceedings. "If it's forced to pay damages, it's very difficult to get that back."

Smartflash's patents cover ways of controlling access to digital data through payment systems. The inventor, Patrick Racz, originally sought to commercialise the invention in 2002 with pop singer Britney Spears, according to the complaint.