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Comment by ecaron | Hacker News Reader

People can donate to his legal defense fund at https://fundanything.com/patenttroll?locale=en - it has already raised nearly $500k!

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I feel conflicted. I like Adam but I think he is rich enough to not need my help.

He's taking on these assholes for the entire podcasting community. As it says in the article, he doesn't need to fight this anymore. Why should he pay for the entire thing himself?

In his Senate video he says the case post-discovery is costing $100k/month. I'm sure Ace is rich, but 1.2MM/yr to blow on legal fees rich?

Net worth of $15-20MM. Plus, there’s the possibility of these guys being assigned costs.

He may be a little wealthy, but at this point he isn't fighting for himself, he's fighting for podcasters in general.

You're not helping him; you're sticking it to a patent troll.

That may be an end result, but the direct consequence of continuing to support this is that Adam's lawyers make their salary for the year.

For the downvoters: The correct approach is the one being implemented by the EFF. Continuing to fund Adam's lawyers will give you emotional satisfaction, but suing someone who is simply using the patent system as it's intended doesn't fix anything.

Implementing the patent system's own controls is the best approach to repairing this situation until congress decides to take the problems of software patents seriously.

+1. The EFF's attempt to completely invalidate the patent is the correct approach. If the patent is invalidated, then it protects all of us from trolls (at least in the case of podcasting).

Carolla is attempting to completely invalidate the patent through this case. What did you think he was doing?

If he continues his case, all he can get is lawyers fees and a judgement that he does not violate the patent. It doesn't say anything about the actual patent itself.

The EFF approach solves the problem for everyone by having the patent office void the patent due to prior art claims.

Adam's approach inflicts financial pain on the patent holder.

> using the patent system as it's intended

I don't know what your copy of the Constitution says, but mine says:

"To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries"

The troll in question is not an inventor, has made no discovery, and is doing nothing to promote the progress of science and useful arts.

Adam is being sued, not doing the suing.

Adam's lawyers who are fighting a patent troll.

What's wrong with his lawyers' getting paid? Sure, they may get paid a lot, but lawyering is actually quite hard, requires grueling hours in a frequently miserable office culture, and typically requires large amounts of educational debt (the average law school grad has debt in the mid $100,000s). Most of my friends are lawyers (and yes, I am too) and I can tell you that very few of them are living fun lives.

I'm not saying they deserve anyone's sympathy. Objectively speaking, of course, most lawyers are doing pretty well (though there's this: http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/19/us/lawyer-suicides/). But I don't see how there's anything wrong with somebody paying their fees. They are earning them, after all.

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