How to Cite Patents

Whether you're writing a research paper or a business report, you may need to cite a patent. The point of your citation is to enable your readers to locate the patent documents you referenced. However, the format of your citation and the information included varies depending on whether you're using Modern Language Association (MLA), American Medical Association (AMA), American Psychological Association (APA), or Chicago Style.

Sample Citations

MLA Patent Citation

Chicago Patent Citation

APA Patent Citation

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

MLA

1
Use the owner of the patent as the author. The owner or inventor of the patent will be listed on the front page. Use the name of the inventor as the "author" of the patent, not any assignees listed (usually a corporate entity or university). List the patent owner's last name first, then their first name and middle initial.^{[1]XResearch source}
- For example: "Hartman, Richard B."
- If the patent lists more than one inventor, write them in your citation in the same order they appear on the first page of the patent. Separate each name with a comma, using the word "and" before the last name. For example: "Sunshine, Sally M. and Moon, Jay S."
- If there are more than 3 inventors, use the first name in your citation followed by the abbreviation "et. al." For example: "Sunshine, Sally M., et. al."^{[2]XResearch source}
2
List the title of the patent after the owner of the patent. Find the full title of the patent on the front page of the patent. Use the same capitalization as appears on the patent itself, which typically is sentence-case. Follow the title with a period.^{[3]XResearch source}
- For example: "Hartman, Richard B. Motorized ice cream cone."
- Do not use italics or enclose the title in quotation marks.
3
Follow the title with the patent number. The patent number typically appears on the first page of the patent, underneath the title. Occasionally you'll also see it on the top right-hand corner of the front page. Enter the patent number exactly as it appears, with no commas.^{[4]XResearch source}
- For example: "Hartman, Richard B. Motorized ice cream cone. US 5971829"
4
Provide the name of the agency that issued the patent. Place a comma after the patent number, then spell out the government agency that issued the patent without any abbreviations. This information typically will be found on the first page of the patent. You may have to go to the agency's website to get the full official name.^{[5]XResearch source}
- For example: "Hartman, Richard B. Motorized ice cream cone. US 5971829, United States Patent and Trademark Office"
5
Close your citation with the date the patent was issued. Place a comma after the name of the agency that issued the patent, then enter the full date the patent was issued with the day first, followed by the month and the year.^{[6]XResearch source}
- For example: "Hartman, Richard B. Motorized ice cream cone. US 5971829, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 26 October 1999."
- Do not abbreviate the months of the year.
- The date the patent was issued may be referred to as the "publication date." Do not use the filing date, which is the date the inventor filed their patent application.
6
Add the website and URL if you found the patent online. Normally your citation would end with the date the patent was issued. However, if you accessed the patent online, you also need the title of the website where you found the patent in italics, followed by the URL of the patent.^{[7]XResearch source}
- For example: "Hartman, Richard B. Motorized ice cream cone. US 5971829, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 26 October 1999. Google Patents, patents.google.com/patent/US5971829A/en?oq=5971829."
- Do not include "http//" before the URL, or make your URL a direct link, unless your supervisor or instructor requests it specifically.
7
Create an in-text citation with the patent owner and page number. A parenthetical in-text citation to the patent uses the last name of the patent owner along with the page where the material you've mentioned appears, if necessary.^{[8]XResearch source}
- If you use the inventor's name in the sentence, provide the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. For example: "Hartman's invention attempted to resolve the long-suffering issue of getting sticky hands from ice cream dripping down the side of the cone (2)."
- If there are 2 inventors, include the last names of both in your parenthetical, separated by the word "and." If there are 3 or more inventors, include the last name of only the first inventor in your parenthetical, followed by the abbreviation "et. al." For example: "(Hartman et. al., 2)."
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Chicago

1
Start with the name of the patent owner. In your bibliography, write the last name of the inventor or patent owner. Follow the last name with a comma and then write out the full first and middle names of the inventor. Use a middle initial if that is all that's available to you.
- For example: "Porath, Deanna F."
- List multiple patent owners in the order they appear on the patent. Separate names with commas, using "and" before the last owner's name. Write the final name first, middle, then last name with no commas.^{[9]XResearch source} For example: "Sunshine, Sally Lee, Moon, Jay Song, and Mary May McMinnis."
- Do not use the names of any assignees of the patent (typically a corporate entity or a university).
2
Write the title of the patent. Place a period after the name of the patent owner or inventor in your bibliography, then provide the full title of the patent using sentence-case. Place a period after the end of the title.
- For example: "Porath, Deanna F. Pedal operated mower."
3
Include the full patent number. The patent number can be found on the first page of the patent, either underneath the title or in the upper right-hand corner. Write the number as it appears without any commas between the digits.
- The patent number typically will identify the country where the patent was issued.
- For example: "Porath, Deanna F. Pedal operated mower. U.S. Patent 4455816,"
4
List the date the patent was filed. Place a comma after the patent number and then add the date the patent was filed. Format your date by listing the month first, then the day, followed by a comma and the year.
- For example: "Porath, Deanna F. Pedal operated mower. U.S. Patent 4455816, filed June 29, 1982,"
- Do not use any abbreviations for the names of the months.
5
Add the date the patent was issued. Place a comma after the year the patent was filed, then provide the date the patent was issued using the same date format you used for the filing date. The issue date may also be called the "publication date" on the patent.
- For example: "Porath, Deanna F. Pedal operated mower. U.S. Patent 4455816, filed June 29, 1982, and issued June 26, 1984."
6
Include a direct URL if you found the patent online. If you accessed the patent online, your bibliography citation should include a full direct URL to the website where you found the patent. You don't have to include the title of the website.
- For example: "Porath, Deanna F. Pedal operated mower. U.S. Patent 4455816, filed June 29, 1982," and issued June 26, 1984. https://patents.google.com/patent/US4455816A/en?oq=4455816."
7
Use commas between elements in footnotes. The format for footnotes within your paper differs slightly from the format you used for your citation in your bibliography at the end of your paper. Inventors names are written with the first name first, then middle name or initial, then last name. Commas are used between all elements, with only a final period at the end.
- For example: "Porath, Deanna F, Pedal operated mower, U.S. Patent 4455816, filed June 29, 1982," and issued June 26, 1984, https://patents.google.com/patent/US4455816A/en?oq=4455816."
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Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

APA

1
Start with the name of the patent owner. Use the last name of the inventor, followed by the inventor's first and middle initials. If there are 2 inventors, place an ampersand ("&") between their names. For 3 to 7 inventors, list last names and initials separated by commas, with an ampersand before the final author's name.^{[10]XResearch source}
- For example: "Amiss, K.T. & Abbott, M.H." If there is only one inventor, you would simply write "Amiss, K.T."
2
Add the year the patent was issued in parentheses. The date the patent was issued should appear on the first page of the patent. It may also be called the "publication date."^{[11]XResearch source}
- For example: "Amiss, K.T. & Abbott, M.H. (1995)."
- Do not use the filing date, which will be an earlier date than the issuance or publication date.
3
Include the full patent number in italics. The full patent number typically also includes the name of the country or regional authority that issued the patent. Use commas for U.S. Patent numbers.^{[12]XResearch source}
- For example: "Amiss, K.T. & Abbott, M.H. (1995). U.S. Patent No. 5,443,036."
- Alpha-numeric identifiers, such as those issued for European patents, do not use commas.
4
Write the location of the patent office. You may have to check the website of the patent agency to find the name of the city where the main office is located. Include the name of the country if it is not included in the patent number.^{[13]XResearch source}
- For example: "Amiss, K.T. & Abbott, M.H. (1995). U.S. Patent No. 5,443,036. Washington, DC"
5
Close your citation with the name of the issuing agency. Follow the name of the city with a colon, and then add the full official name of the agency that issued the patent. You may need to check the website of the patent agency to get the official name, or it may be listed on the patent.^{[14]XResearch source}
- For example: "Amiss, K.T. & Abbott, M.H. (1995). U.S. Patent No. 5,443,036. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office."
6
Use the patent number for in-text citations. When making a parenthetical citation in the text of your paper, all you need is the patent number. You don't need to include page numbers or cite directly to a diagram or figure.^{[15]XResearch source}
- For example: "(U.S. Patent No. 5,443,036)."
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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

AMA

1
List the names of inventors and assignees. Use the last names and first initials of the inventors. Identify them as inventors, then place a semicolon and list the names of any assignees (typically a university or corporate entity).^{[16]XResearch source}
- For example: "Blonsky, G, Blonsky, C, inventors; Blonsky, G, Blonsky, C, assignees."
2
Provide the title of the patent. The title of the patent should be at the top of the first page of the patent. Follow the names with a period and then write the full title in sentence-case, capitalizing only the first word and any proper nouns.^{[17]XResearch source}
- For example: "Blonsky, G, Blonsky, C, inventors; Blonsky, G, Blonsky, C, assignees. Apparatus for facilitating the birth of a child by centrifugal force."
3
Write the complete patent number. Place a period after the end of the title, then write the patent number including the identification of the country or regional authority that issued the patent.^{[18]XResearch source}
- For example: "Blonsky, G, Blonsky, C, inventors; Blonsky, G, Blonsky, C, assignees. Apparatus for facilitating the birth of a child by centrifugal force. US patent 3,216,423."
4
Close with the date the patent was issued. The final piece of information in your bibliographical citation is the issue or publication date of the patent. You'll find the date on the first or second page of the patent. Write the month first, then the day, followed by a comma and the year.^{[19]XResearch source}
- For example: "Blonsky, G, Blonsky, C, inventors; Blonsky, G, Blonsky, C, assignees. Apparatus for facilitating the birth of a child by centrifugal force. US patent 3,216,423. November 9, 1965."
- Do not use the earlier filing date, only the date the patent was issued by the patent agency.
AMA style does not use footnotes or parenthetical citations in the text. Rather, you'll place a superscript number at the end of the sentence that corresponds to the number of that reference in your bibliography.^{[20]XResearch source}
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