Published February 3, 2021. Updated August 15, 2021.

To create a patent reference or citation, you will need to know the author name, title of the patent, patent number, issuing body, and year.

The templates and examples below will show you how to cite a patent in MLA style, APA style, Chicago style, and Harvard referencing style.

Easily cite a patent in the style of your choice using the Chegg Writing citation generator.

Help protect your paper against accidental plagiarism with the Chegg Writing plagiarism checker and citation generator.

Citing a patent in MLA style

The title of the patent should be title case and enclosed with double quotes.

In-text citation template and example:

(Author Last Name)

(Sullivan)

Works cited entry template and example:

For more examples and information, view our citing a patent in MLA guide.

Citing a patent in APA style

The title of the patent should be sentence case and italicized.

In-text citation template and example:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Chee, 2020)

Reference list entry template and example:

For more examples and information, view our citing a patent in APA guide.

Citing a patent in Chicago style, notes-bibliography

The title of the patent should be title case and enclosed with double quotes.

Footnotes template and example:

Note

1. Author First Name Surname, “Title of the Patent in Title Case,” Patent number, Issuing Body, Publication Year.

   1. Arkadiuz Bibillo and Pranav Paterl, “Hybrid Reverse Transcriptases,” US patent 20210017504, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 2020.

Shortened note

1. Author Surname, “Patent Title.”

   2. Bibillo and Paterl, “Hybrid Reverse Transcriptases.”

Bibliography entry template and example:

For more examples and information, view our citing a patent in Chicago Style guide.

Citing a patent in Chicago style, author-date

The title of the patent should be title case and enclosed with double quotes.

In-text citation template and example:

(Author Surname Publication Year)

(Lei 2020)

Reference list entry template and example:

For more examples and information, view our citing a patent in Chicago Style guide.

How to cite a patent in Harvard referencing style

The title of the patent should be set in sentence case and italicized.

In-text citation template and example:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Perlman, 2020)

Reference list entry template and example:

If the patent was accessed online, the URL and accessed date should be included at the end of the citation, formatted as: Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).

For more examples and information, view our citing a patent in Harvard Referencing Style guide.

Writing a paper? Don’t forget to include a bibliography.