PERRLA/Guides/APA 7/Patent

How to Cite a Patent in APA 7

An APA 7 reference for a patent lists the inventors as the authors, then the year the patent was issued (not the year it was filed) in parentheses, the patent's title in italics and sentence case, the patent number in parentheses as (U.S. Patent No. 8,697,359), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as the publisher, and a URL if you have one. The company that owns the patent isn't the author. The in-text citation is the inventors' last names and the issue year: (Zhang, 2014).

The format

Inventor, A. A. (Year Issued). Title of patent (U.S. Patent No. X,XXX,XXX). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. URL

PERRLA APA Experts · Updated October 21, 2026
Checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Paste the patent's Google Patents link into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA reads the page and builds the reference as a Patent: the inventors as authors, the title, the patent number with its commas, the date it was filed, the date it was issued, and the link. It leaves companies, universities, and institutes out of the author list, because they own the patent but didn't invent it. Before you save, compare the inventors, the title, and the issue date with the patent's front page. Google Patents sometimes lists older names last name first, a suffix like Jr. can land in the wrong box, and a company name PERRLA doesn't recognize, like Novo Nordisk AS, can slip in as an author.

Adding one by hand? Choose Patent (under Legal References). Add each inventor with the role Individual Author (person), in the order the patent lists them, with any Jr. or III in the suffix box. Type the Patent Name in sentence case. PERRLA prints it the way you type it, so if you paste a title in title case, the box flags it and offers to fix it for you, and words left in all capitals stay in all capitals. Type the Patent Number with its commas, like 8,697,359. Put the date from "Date of Patent" in Year Patent Issued. That's the year APA uses. The Date Patent Filed box is optional for APA. PERRLA uses it for Turabian references.

Look up
Paste a Google Patents link, get the reference

https://patents.google.com/patent/US8697359B1

Zhang, F. (2014). CRISPR-Cas systems and methods for altering expression of gene products (U.S. Patent No. 8,697,359). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patents.google.com/patent/US8697359B1

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same reference by hand.

The parts of the reference

1. Inventors (the authors)

The inventors are the authors. You'll find them on the patent's front page, after "Inventor" or "Inventors." List them in the same order, last name first, with initials, the same way you'd list a journal article's authors. Up to 20 go in the reference.

Lau, J., Bloch, P., & Hansen, T. K.

The company, university, or institute named after "Assignee" or "Applicant" owns the patent. It doesn't go in the author spot. A suffix like Jr. goes after the initials, set off by commas: New, W., Jr., & Corenman, J. E.

2. Year issued

Use the year the patent was issued (granted), not the year the application was filed. On the front page, it's the date after "Date of Patent." Older patents print it at the top: "Patented Oct. 9, 1923." Only the year goes in the reference.

(2014).

The gap can be years. Zhang's CRISPR patent was filed in 2013 and issued in 2014, and Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 patent was filed in 2006 and issued in 2012. APA's own example in the manual works the same way: a patent filed in 2013 and issued in 2016 is cited as 2016.

3. Title of the patent

The title goes in italics and in sentence case: capitalize the first word, any word after a colon, and proper nouns, and keep acronyms like CRISPR, GLP-1, and mRNA as they are. The printed patent sets its title in all capitals, so retype it instead of copying it.

CRISPR-Cas systems and methods for altering expression of gene products

4. Patent number

Put the number in parentheses right after the title, in plain type, as "U.S. Patent No." and the number with its commas. Drop the "US" at the front and the letter code at the end (A, B1, or B2). Newer front pages print them with the number (US 8,697,359 B1), and Google Patents runs them together (US8697359B1).

(U.S. Patent No. 8,697,359)

A number like US 2009/0156478 A1 is a published patent application, not a granted patent. If the invention was later granted, cite the granted patent's number instead. The front page of the granted patent lists the earlier application under "Prior Publication Data."

5. Patent office (the publisher)

The office that issued the patent is the publisher. For a U.S. patent, it's always the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, written out.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

6. URL

Add a link to the patent if you have one. Google Patents pages and the USPTO's patent search both work. A Google Patents link is short and stable, and it's the one PERRLA can look up. Don't put a period after the URL.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US8697359B1

Examples

One inventor, filed one year and issued the next: Zhang's CRISPR patent

Feng Zhang's 2014 patent on using CRISPR-Cas systems to edit genes in eukaryotic cells, a landmark for genetics and precision medicine courses. It was filed October 15, 2013, and issued April 15, 2014, so the reference says 2014. The Broad Institute and MIT own it, and neither one goes in the author spot.

  • Parenthetical citation(Zhang, 2014)
  • Narrative citationZhang (2014)

Two inventors and a company that owns the patent: an mRNA vaccine

Moderna's 2020 patent on mRNA vaccines against betacoronaviruses, the virus family that includes the ones behind MERS and COVID-19. The front page names Moderna as the applicant and the assignee, but the authors are the two inventors, Giuseppe Ciaramella and Sunny Himansu. It was filed February 28, 2020, and issued July 7, 2020.

  • Parenthetical citation(Ciaramella & Himansu, 2020)
  • Narrative citationCiaramella and Himansu (2020)

Three inventors and a six-year wait: Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 patent

A Novo Nordisk patent on acylated GLP-1 compounds, the class of drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes. It names three inventors, so the in-text citation uses the first inventor and et al. from the very first time you cite it. Its international application was filed March 20, 2006, and the U.S. patent was issued March 6, 2012. Its application was published in 2009 as US 2009/0156478 A1, but the granted patent is what you cite.

  • Parenthetical citation(Lau et al., 2012)
  • Narrative citationLau et al. (2012)

An inventor with a suffix: the pulse oximeter monitor

Nellcor's 1987 patent on a pulse oximeter monitor, the bedside device every nursing student learns to read. The first inventor is William New, Jr., so Jr. goes after his initial in the reference and stays out of the in-text citation. It was filed May 20, 1986, and issued March 31, 1987.

  • Parenthetical citation(New & Corenman, 1987)
  • Narrative citationNew and Corenman (1987)

A century-old patent with a long title: Banting, Best, and Collip's insulin

The 1923 patent on the pancreatic extract we now call insulin, issued to Frederick Banting, Charles Best, and James Collip and assigned to the University of Toronto. The printed patent has no "Date of Patent" box. It says "Patented Oct. 9, 1923" at the top. Its title is one long all-caps phrase, retyped here in sentence case. Google Patents lists two of the inventors last name first, so take the names from the patent itself.

  • Parenthetical citation(Banting et al., 1923)
  • Narrative citationBanting et al. (1923)

In-text citations

A patent's in-text citation works like any authored work: the inventors' last names and the year the patent was issued. One or two inventors are named every time. Three or more get the first inventor and et al., starting with the first citation. A suffix like Jr. never appears in the citation.

  • One inventor: (Zhang, 2014) or Zhang (2014)
  • Two inventors: (Ciaramella & Himansu, 2020) or Ciaramella and Himansu (2020)
  • Three or more: (Lau et al., 2012) or Lau et al. (2012)
  • A suffix in the reference: (New & Corenman, 1987)

You can name the patent number in your sentence if it helps your reader, like "Zhang's patent (U.S. Patent No. 8,697,359) describes…," but the citation still uses the inventor and the year. Citing a company's invention? Name the company in your sentence, and cite the inventors: Moderna's betacoronavirus vaccine patent (Ciaramella & Himansu, 2020).

Common mistakes

  • Zhang, F. (2013). CRISPR-Cas systems and methods for altering expression of gene products (U.S. Patent No. 8,697,359).Zhang, F. (2014). CRISPR-Cas systems and methods for altering expression of gene products (U.S. Patent No. 8,697,359).The year is when the patent was issued, from "Date of Patent" on the front page. The filing date and the provisional application dates come earlier, and they don't go in the reference.
  • ModernaTX, Inc. (2020). Betacoronavirus mRNA vaccine (U.S. Patent No. 10,702,600).Ciaramella, G., & Himansu, S. (2020). Betacoronavirus mRNA vaccine (U.S. Patent No. 10,702,600).The assignee or applicant owns the patent. The inventors created it, and they're the authors.
  • (U.S. Patent No. US8697359B1)(U.S. Patent No. 8,697,359)The US prefix and the letter code aren't part of the number APA uses. Give the number alone, with its commas: 8,697,359.
  • CRISPR-CAS SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ALTERING EXPRESSION OF GENE PRODUCTSCRISPR-Cas systems and methods for altering expression of gene productsPatents print their titles in all capitals. APA uses sentence case, so retype the title and keep capitals only for the first word, proper nouns, and acronyms.
  • Lau, J., Bloch, P., & Hansen, T. K. (2009). Acylated GLP-1 compounds (U.S. Patent No. 2009/0156478).Lau, J., Bloch, P., & Hansen, T. K. (2012). Acylated GLP-1 compounds (U.S. Patent No. 8,129,343).A number with a slash and A1 belongs to a published application, which isn't a granted patent. Once the patent is granted, cite its patent number and the year it was issued.
  • New, W., Jr., & Corenman, J. E. (1987). Pulse oximeter monitor. U.S. Patent 4,653,498.New, W., Jr., & Corenman, J. E. (1987). Pulse oximeter monitor (U.S. Patent No. 4,653,498). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.The title is italic, the number goes in parentheses right after it as "U.S. Patent No.," and the patent office follows as the publisher.

Quick checklist

  • Inventors as authors, not the company that owns the patent
  • The year the patent was issued, not filed
  • Title in italics and sentence case, retyped from the all-caps original
  • (U.S. Patent No. X,XXX,XXX) with commas, no US prefix or letter code
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as the publisher
  • A Google Patents or USPTO link, with no period after it
  • In text: inventors' last names and the issue year

Questions students ask

Do I use the date a patent was filed or the date it was issued?

The date it was issued. On the front page of a U.S. patent, that's the date after "Date of Patent" (on very old patents, the "Patented" line at the top). Only the year goes in the reference. The filing date, the priority date, and any provisional application dates stay out of an APA reference.

Who is the author of a patent: the inventor or the company?

The inventor. A company, university, or institute named as the assignee or applicant owns the rights to the patent, but the people named as inventors are its authors. List every inventor, in the order the patent gives them.

Where do I find a patent's number and details?

Search Google Patents (patents.google.com) or the USPTO's Patent Public Search by number, title, or inventor. The front page of the patent has everything the reference needs: the inventors, the title, the patent number, and the date of patent. Google Patents also links to a PDF of the full patent.

What do the letters at the end of a patent number mean?

They're kind codes, which tell you what sort of document it is. On U.S. patents granted since 2001, B1 and B2 mark a granted patent, and A1 marks a published patent application, which is a request for a patent, not a granted one. Older granted patents end in A. Leave the code out of your reference, and make sure you're citing a granted patent, not an application.

How do I cite a patent from another country?

APA 7's patent format is written for U.S. patents. For another country's patent, adapt it: name that country's patent and its patent office in place of "U.S. Patent No." and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and check with your instructor. PERRLA's Patent type is built for U.S. patents, so it always prints the U.S. wording. Many inventions are patented in several countries, so check whether a U.S. version of the patent exists.

Does a patent need a URL in APA 7?

Include one when you read the patent online. APA's own patent example ends with a link to the patent, and it takes your reader straight to the source. A Google Patents link works well, since it's short and stays put. If you read a printed copy, the reference is complete without one.

Rules checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Chapter 11 (legal references), Section 11.8 (patents), and Sections 9.8 (author names and suffixes) and 8.17 (et al. in citations). Every example verified against the patent's own front page (the PDF of the issued patent) and its Google Patents record: U.S. Patent Nos. 8,697,359; 10,702,600; 8,129,343; 4,653,498; and 1,469,994.

PERRLA looks up a patent from its Google Patents link and builds the reference with the inventors, the issue year, and the U.S. Patent No. in APA format.

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