Digital Social Hour – Episode Summary

Wes Austin: Why Filing a Patent Is Way More Expensive Than You Think | DSH #1739

Podcast: Digital Social Hour
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Wes Austin (Comedian, Lawyer, Former Engineer)
Date: January 7, 2026

Episode Overview

Sean Kelly welcomes Wes Austin—unique for being a lawyer and working stand-up comedian—for a wide-ranging, unfiltered conversation. They dive deep into the real costs and challenges behind filing patents, Wes's unorthodox career path, the worlds of comedy and law, UFOs, conspiracy theories, Big Tech, politics, media, and even their mutual love of desserts. The episode delivers bold perspectives on the legal and entrepreneurial reality of intellectual property alongside discussions about public trust, media, and personal motivation.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

Wes Austin’s Unusual Career Journey

• Wes started as an electrical engineer, became a lawyer, and eventually pursued comedy.
  • "I was an electrical engineer first... then law school and then comedian after." (01:05)
• Challenges of moving between such different fields and the difficulty of starting stand-up:
  • "It took me forever to finally get out and actually do it...I was just too scared to do it before." (01:13, 02:25)
  • His very first open mic didn't bomb, thanks to a friendly audience, but he bombed a lot after: "But then after that, I bombed hard for a really, really long time." (02:30)

Comedy & Humiliation

• Shared stories of on-stage bombs and awkward jokes (e.g., the infamous "jock check" joke).
  • "It ate it so hard. Everybody was just so uncomfortable...I didn't dare try that bit for, like, three years." (03:26)
• Worst set involved being upstaged by a service dog: "The dog is getting more laughs than I am...bring the dog back!" (20:10)

Patent Law – Realities and Myths

• Filing a patent is extremely expensive and time-consuming:
  • "You're probably really looking between like 10 and $15,000 to get filed ... then if you're gonna try to get something through the patent office, you're looking at another 5 to 10, 15, even $20,000 on top of that." (33:33, 33:49)
• Patent prosecution can take years with recurring back-and-forth with the USPTO:
  • "It'll take years to finally get through because you'll get their little thing. You'll send your arguments...might be three, four, five months before you hear back again." (34:45)
• Secret or sensitive patents may be seized by the government via secrecy orders, but sometimes U.S. "UFO patents" are oddly public (08:09–09:05).

Notable Quote

• "I really hate to see somebody spending a lot of money if it's not gonna be something that's gonna be valuable, because I've been doing it long enough that I know I don't want them to be mad at the end." (35:23)

The Patents that Change Lives

• Stories about people whose patents pay generational wealth—the guest's teacher, Mr. Valdez:
  • “One patent can change your life...the guy had a pet monkey, lived in a mansion like, that dude's a legend.” (06:07–06:20)

Conspiracy Theories & Government Secrecy

• Discussion of government handling of secret tech, UFOs, and the prevalence of conspiracy theories, especially regarding fake news and psyops:
  • "If it's truly something that's secret and you want to keep confidential...the government will grab it when you file it...for a secrecy order." (07:51)
  • On the explosion of government-related narrative flips: “They do kind of go from a wild 180 from, 'None of it's real...This is gases from the swamp,' to, 'Yeah, we're actually going to have hearings.'” (12:32)
  • Social media makes spreading misinformation or psyops extremely easy and fast. (14:04–14:13)

Comedy, Politics, and Media

• Wes keeps politics out of his stand-up sets but creates conservative-leaning current events jokes for social media.
  • "So my comedy, I try to just keep away from any politics, but my ... Instagram and YouTube are pretty much just news events. And then I do some kind of conservative spin joke on it." (14:31)
• Reflections on recent media cancellations and polarization (Stephen Colbert, Howard Stern).
  • “He used to be so edgy...then he just started hating Trump out of nowhere.” (25:23–25:35)

The Real Impact of Lawsuits

• Lawsuits are almost always more stressful and costly than expected:
  • "Usually in lawsuits, both parties end up really mad...it costs a lot of money and it's really stressful." (18:17)

AI's Impact on Law and Professional Work

• AI is rapidly changing the legal field—even replacing paralegal and lawyer tasks in some firms:
  • “All this AI is actually, I think, taking out white collar, more professional jobs...that's what it's good at.” (32:10)
• Using ChatGPT as a first legal review, sometimes before even contacting a lawyer:
  • “Now I get a contract, I run it through Chat GPT first before I even send it to my lawyer...” (31:29)
• AI patent lawyers on the horizon: "Their bill is like $7 instead of 4,000..." (33:26)

Deep State, Power, and Corruption

• Conversation on the “deep state,” secretive elite organizations, and disillusionment with government transparency.
  • “You should never trust them. They are always gonna be there. Always some other agenda that they don't tell you about.” (12:54)
• Power and money as corrupting forces in government and professional life:
  • “Power corrupts. And absolute power corrupts absolutely.” (41:22)

Personal Wealth, Fulfillment, and Motivation

• Both discuss how financial jumps brought less fulfillment at the higher tiers:
  • "You could have a billion dollars, still wouldn’t be enough." (41:43)
  • "The higher you go, the incremental enjoyment that you get is getting smaller and smaller." (42:32)

Lifestyle, Food, and Personal Habits

• Cookie and cheesecake preferences, the importance of moderation, and what “success” buys in daily life.
  • "I'm kind of into cookies. I do these little cookie review things once a week." (43:25)
  • “If you like food, do you like cookies? … Because I'm kind of into cookies.” (43:18)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Wes on imposter syndrome in comedy:
  "Most of the time, probably 75% of the time, I think I did horribly. Just terrible. And I probably should quit." (20:36)
• Sean on the cost/benefit of lawsuits:
  "Even if you win...You still gotta collect it. There's a lot of people that never collect their winnings." (18:29)
• Wes on AI and legal jobs:
  "Why would you call a lawyer when you can ask Chat GPT and it'll tell you?" (32:14)
• Wes on the deep state:
  “There's definitely some kind of set of people that just seem to have a ton of power.” (39:17)
• Sean on media polarization:
  "You can't really do that at that level. Alienate 50% of the population." (26:16)

Key Timestamps

• 00:42 – Introduction of Wes Austin and his unique combination of law and comedy
• 01:05 – Wes’s career progression: engineer → lawyer → comedian
• 02:25 – First steps into comedy, web series “The IP Section”
• 03:26 – Wes’s infamous "jock check" bit and early bombing
• 06:07 – Story about Mr. Valdez, a teacher who struck it rich with a patent
• 08:09 – Government “UFO patents” and secrecy orders
• 09:49 – UFO sightings in Wes’s hometown
• 10:32 – Bigfoot & credibility in paranormal reports
• 14:31 – Blending comedy with news and politics online
• 18:17 – The true cost and stress of lawsuits
• 33:33 – The breakdown of patent filing costs
• 34:45 – Patent prosecution’s time demands
• 36:06 – Wes's work on NSA secure communications (the 90s tech scene)
• 41:22 – Money, fulfillment, and ever-shifting satisfaction
• 43:18 – Cookie and cheesecake appreciation
• 44:40 – Wes’s favorite comfort food (classic American cuisine)

Conclusion

This episode delivers both practical, eye-opening realities about the patent process (the costs, the grind, the rare big payoffs, the impact of AI) and the human experience behind professional reinvention—whether in law, standup, or entrepreneurship. Candid, sometimes comedic, sometimes critical, Sean and Wes navigate modern anxieties—about tech, wealth, government, and meaning—with a bluntness that will resonate with anyone curious about the high-stakes world of ideas and the challenge of staying true to yourself.

Follow Wes on Instagram (@WesleyAustin2) and YouTube (WesAustin) for both his comedy and current events commentary.