How to Cite a Patent in Chicago 18th edition (notes and bibliography)

Inventions, intellectual property, and patent filings.

Example in Chicago 18th edition (notes and bibliography)

Page, Lawrence. Method for node ranking in a linked database. U.S. Patent US6285999B1, issued September 4, 2001. https://patents.google.com/patent/US6285999B1/en.
Footnote Lawrence Page, Method for node ranking in a linked database, U.S. Patent US6285999B1, issued September 4, 2001, https://patents.google.com/patent/US6285999B1/en.

What Chicago 18th edition (notes and bibliography) includes

These are the details of the example above that the style prints, so they are the ones to collect for your own source.

  • Patent Title
  • Inventor(s)
  • Patent Number
  • Patent Office
  • Date Issued
  • URL

The patent document header contains the patent number, filing date, and issue date. The assignee (owner) may differ from the inventors listed.

The formatting comes from the style's own file, so check the finer points against your guide. What to check by hand in Chicago 18th edition (notes and bibliography).