{"id":15280,"date":"2020-11-06T12:48:53","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T11:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/?p=15280"},"modified":"2022-06-16T12:54:34","modified_gmt":"2022-06-16T10:54:34","slug":"patent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/apa-examples\/patent\/","title":{"rendered":"How to cite a patent in APA Style"},"content":{"rendered":"
This article reflects the\u00a0APA 7th edition<\/strong>\u00a0guidelines. Click here<\/a> for APA 6th edition guidelines.<\/figure>\n

A patent is a legal document acknowledging an invention as the intellectual property of its inventor. Though they fall under legal materials, references for patents follow standard APA Style, rather than the legal style used for things like court cases<\/a> and laws<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To cite a patent in APA Style, list the name of the inventor, the year it was issued (in parentheses), the title of the patent (in italics), the patent number, the name of the issuing body, and the URL if available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
APA format<\/th>\nInventor name<\/span>, Initials<\/span>. (Year<\/span>). Title of patent<\/em><\/span> (Country\/Region<\/span> Patent No. Number<\/span>). Issuing Body<\/span>. URL<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
APA reference list<\/a><\/th>\nGhatak, S. (2019). Immunization testing system<\/em> (U.S. Patent No. 10,788,482). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https:\/\/rb.gy\/ik0fb0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
APA in-text citation<\/a><\/th>\n(Ghatak, 2019)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Where to find patent information<\/h2>\n

Intellectual property organizations generally keep a comprehensive record of their patents online. For example, try the website of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office<\/a>. To find patent offices across the world, check here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve found the relevant patent, all the information you need should be displayed:<\/p>\n

\"Patent<\/p>\n

Note that the URL can end up being quite long, as here; use a URL shortener<\/a> if necessary.<\/p>\n

Frequently asked questions about APA Style citations<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n \n \n When should I use \u201cet al.\u201d in APA in-text citations?\n <\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/dt>\n
\n
\n \n \n How many authors do I include in an APA reference list entry?\n <\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/dt>\n
\n
\n

You may include up to 20 authors in a reference list entry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When an article has more than 20 authors, replace the names prior to the final listed author with an ellipsis, but do not omit the final author:<\/p>\n

Davis, Y., Smith, J., Caulfield, F., Pullman, H., Carlisle, J., Donahue, S. D., James, F., O\u2019Donnell, K., Singh, J., Johnson, L., Streefkerk, R., McCombes, S., Corrieri, L., Valck, X., Baldwin, F. M., Lorde, J., Wardell, K., Lao, W., Yang, P., . . . O\u2019Brien, T. (2012).<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/dd>\n <\/div>\n <\/dl>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article reflects the\u00a0APA 7th edition\u00a0guidelines. Click here for APA 6th edition guidelines. A patent is a legal document acknowledging an invention as the intellectual property of its inventor. Though they fall under legal materials, references for patents follow standard APA Style, rather than the legal style used for things like court cases and laws. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"categories":[185],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"How to Cite a Patent in APA Style | Format & Examples<\/title>\n <!-- Mirrored from www.scribbr.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/15280 by HTTrack Website Copier/3.x [XR/YP'2000] --> <!-- Added by HTTrack --><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /><!-- /Added by HTTrack --> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"To cite a patent, list the inventor as author and the year of issue. 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