Template:Cite patent/doc

This template identifies a patent or patent application and links to the patents entry in the espacenet database, and also provides some additional information about the cited patent. Suggested uses are within a pair of <ref></ref> tags or as part of a (patent) bibliography at the end of the article. This template should not be used in the body of an article; for more details, see the External Links guideline.

General patent template for citing patents or patent applications from any country is drawn from the espacenet database. This database is more useful than the USPTO database since it highlights related patents/applications in other countries as well as providing current status information and offers a multi-language interface (English/French/German).

Usage

Copy the text below into an article to reference a patent

Most commonly used parameters in vertical format

{{cite patent | country = | number = | status = | title = | pubdate = | gdate = | fdate = | pridate = | inventor = | invent1 = | invent2 = | assign1 = | assign2 = | class = | url = }}

Full parameter set in horizontal format

{{cite patent |country= |number= |status= |title= |pubdate= |gdate= |fdate= |pridate= |inventor= |invent1= |invent2= |assign1= |assign2= |class= |url=}}

Full parameter set in vertical format

Vertical list	Prerequisites	Brief instructions / notes
{{cite patent | country = | number = | status = | title = | pubdate = | gdate = | fdate = | pridate = | inventor = | invent1 = | invent2 = | assign1 = | assign2 = | class = | url = }}	REQUIRED if "status=application" unless "status=application"	two letter country code patent or patent application publication number application/patent title publication date (YYYY-MM-DD) granted date (YYYY-MM-DD) filing date (YYYY-MM-DD) (earliest) priority date (YYYY-MM-DD) list of inventors (free format) first inventor name ( second inventor name first assignee name second assignee name ECLA classification explicit URL (if not present on espacenet)

• If a field name is listed in the Prerequisites column, it is a prerequisite for the field to the left.

Parameters

The fields should be filled in with the following information

{{cite patent
| country	= <!-- two letter country code -->
| number	= <!-- patent or patent application publication number -->
| status	= <!-- application/patent -->
| title		= <!-- title -->
| pubdate	= <!-- YYYY-MM-DD -->
| gdate		= <!-- YYYY-MM-DD -->
| fdate		= <!-- YYYY-MM-DD -->
| pridate	= <!-- YYYY-MM-DD -->
| inventor	= <!-- list of inventors (free format) -->
| invent1	= <!-- first inventor name -->
| invent2	= <!-- second inventor name -->
| assign1	= <!-- first assignee name -->
| assign2	= <!-- second assignee name -->
| class		= <!-- ECLA classification -->
| url		= <!-- Explicit URL -->
}}

Explanation of fields:

1. The country must be the two letter country code, e.g. "US" or "WO" (for international patent applications) See here for the full list of country codes.
2. Do not put commas in patent number
3. Applications must be identified by publication number
4. Add " | title = title " to display the title. Required
5. Add " | status = application " if the citation is a pending application. Preferably include " | status = patent " if a granted patent.
6. Add " | assign1 = assignee " to display the assignee. Increase the numeral for subsequent assignees. Template currently handles two assignees.
7. Add " | inventor = inventor list to provide the inventor names. Displayed by the template but not used to generate COinS meta data. If |inventor= is present but blank, no inventor names will be displayed, even if |invent1= contains a name.
8. Add " | invent1 = inventor last name, inventor first name " to provide the inventor name. Displayed by the template and also used to generate COinS meta data. Increase the numeral for subsequent inventors. Template currently handles four inventors.
9. Add " | pubdate = YYYY-MM-DD " to provide the publication date of an application. This is only displayed if "status=application" is included. For granted patents, use gdate. Required if "status=application".
10. Add " | gdate = YYYY-MM-DD " to provide the date of grant of a patent. Is displayed unless "status=application" is included. Preferentially include "status=patent" to confirm that the patent is granted, but this is not required. Required unless "status=application".
11. Add " | pridate = YYYY-MM-DD " to provide the (earliest) priority date. Not displayed, but could be useful to include for future reference. Including multiple priorities unnecessarily complicated.
12. Add " | fdate = YYYY-MM-DD " to provide the filing date. Not displayed, but used to generate COinS meta data and may prove useful in future.
13. Add " |class=ECLA classification " to provide the ECLA classification. Not displayed, but could be useful to include for future reference. Might be possible to automatically link to the relevant classification in future, but URLs are complex.
14. Add " |url=url " to provide an explicit URL to the patent information. This is only necessary for patents that aren't present on espacenet.com; typically very old patents.

Details

The "country" parameter must be a two letter country code without periods (e.g. US or EP, not U.S., USA, or E.P.)

The number parameter must be the patent number or patent application publication number without any intervening commas or other punctuation (e.g. 2135432, not 2,135,432; likewise, 2005108455, not 2005/108455). You may need to experiment with the precise form for published US patent applications or PCT applications, which are slightly unusual. Help for getting the correct number format can be found here.

Add "|status=application" (without quotes) if you are citing a patent application rather than a patent. Patent applications must be referred to by publication number, not application number.

One (or both) of the publication date or the grant date must be included, as must the title.

Examples

To cite WIPO (aka PCT) patent application WO 2005/083605 A1, use:

{{cite patent
| country = WO
| number = 2005083605
| status = application
| title = Insurance fee calculation device, insurance fee calculation program,
insurance fee calculation method, and insurance fee calculation system
| pubdate = 2005-09-09
| fdate = 2005-02-24
| pridate = 2004-02-26
| invent1 = Kozakai Toshihiko
| assign1 = Aioi Insurance Co Ltd
}}

Results in: WO application 2005083605, Kozakai Toshihiko, "Insurance fee calculation device, insurance fee calculation program, insurance fee calculation method, and insurance fee calculation system", published 2005-09-09, assigned to Aioi Insurance Co Ltd 

To cite US patent 7,143,445, use:

{{cite patent |country=US |number=7143445 |status=patent}}

Results in: US patent 7143445 

To cite US patent 7,143,445, published 2006-11-28, use:

{{cite patent |country=US |number=7143445 |gdate=2006-11-28}}

Results in: US 7143445, issued 2006-11-28 

To cite US patent application 2006265789 use:

{{cite patent |country=US |number=2006265789 |status=application}}

Results in: US application 2006265789 

To cite European patent application 1727416, use:

{{cite patent |country=EP |number=1727416 |status=application}}

Results in: EP application 1727416 

COinS

This template produces COinS metadata; see COinS for background information.

See also

• {{Citation}}
• {{EPO Register}}, to include a link to the European Patent Register entry of a European patent or patent application
• {{Patent}}, a generic template for general use referring to world's patent offices
• {{US patent}}, to include a link to a US patent
• {{US patent application}}, to cite a US patent application as a reference in "references" section
• {{US patent reference}}, to cite a US patent as a reference in "references" section
• {{USPTO Application}}
• {{USPTO Patent}}

External links

• Template:Cite patent/doc at Wikipedia, the free Terran-based encyclopedia that anyone can edit.