Far from discriminating *against* LENR or cold fusion applications, energy can get accelerated handling as per:
"VI. ENERGY The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will, on petition, accord "special" status to all patent applications for inventions which materially contribute to (A) the discovery or development of energy resources, or (B) the more efficient utilization and conservation of energy resources. Examples of inventions in category (A) would be developments in fossil fuels (natural gas, coal, and petroleum), hydrogen fuel technologies, nuclear energy, solar energy, etc. Category (B) would include inventions relating to the reduction of energy consumption in combustion systems, industrial equipment, household appliances, etc." (same link as previous response) "Nuclear" is specifically included and low energy nuclear reactions and cold fusion are not excluded because they are clearly nuclear -- if they work, of course. Not only could Rossi get a patent in the US but he could get accelerated consideration. If of course, his application was in order and he included a proper description of the method being patented.
