See David French on the basics of negotiating US patent law [1], courtesy of artefact, in a comment on E-Cat World [2].
Eric [1] http://coldfusionnow.org/the-us-new-patent-law-march-16-2013/ [2] http://www.e-catworld.com/2013/01/more-on-the-testing-rossi-is-very-worried/comment-page-1/#comment-103950