I wonder if they stuck Abdin with a bill from the first suit and the "appeal"/GoFundMe was largely a mechanism to generate cash to pay that.
That's entirely possible. Look at it this way: If the attorneys represented Abdin on contingency, that means they shouldered the costs of litigation at the district court, gambling on either a settlement or damages to get paid.
Trouble is, because they bungled the copyright registration, Abdin is no longer eligible to ask CBS to pay attorneys' fees should he win. And he's also ineligible to seek statutory damages, having to settle for only actual damages, which could be close to zero since his game has never been completed or taken to market. Basically, by not appealing, the attorneys get nothing.
BUT... Abdin's appeal has become a cause celebre, demonstrating that people's hatred of Discovery and CBS translates easily into $20,000 in just a matter of days. It doesn't matter if the appeal doesn't move forward or if it loses. So long as Nerdrotic and his fellow YouTube conspiracists can stoke people's hatred, they'll keep giving money. Abdin's lawyers may lose the case but they'll cry all the way to the bank.
Also,
@gblews asked:
I'm a little fuzzy on whether or not Abdin's GoFundMe actually raised $20,000, and how much of whatever was raised has been paid to his lawyers. The article says that the GoundFundMe pitch now says it is "on behalf of John Johnson", which sounds like all of the money collected will go to the attorney. So if the appeal fails, for whatever reason, Abdin won't even be able to keep any money not paid to his attorney? If so, wow.
Yes, Abdin's GoFundMe raised more than $20,000. After paying for transaction fees, more than $19,000 was handed over to Abdin's lawyer, John Johnson. Presumably, Johnson will administer the money on Abdin's behalf but Johnson's also first in line to be paid out of that fund.
The rest of the money will quickly be eaten up by the other budgeted activities (vague reference to hiring technical experts and legal consultants, as well as a media campaign that would have no effect on the actual appeal). Don't be surprised if there are future waves of additional fundraising since the budget outlined in the GFM actually totals
more than $20,000 just to start.
So the irony here is that all the GFM money can be used up on "legitimate" costs and Abdin himself will likely see none of it. Everyone other than him benefits — his lawyers, the hired experts, the legal consultants, Nerdrotic and his YouTube conspiracist pals.