How should withdrawn U.S. patents and patent application publications be cited?

Withdrawn U.S. patents and patent application publications should be cited under the “Non-Patent Documents” section on the PTO-892 form. The MPEP provides specific examples for citing these documents:

“(A) Withdrawn U.S. patents: US 6,999,999, 10/2002, Brown et al., 403/155 (withdrawn).”

“(B) Withdrawn U.S. patents application publications: US 2002/0009999 A1, 7/2002, Jones et al., 403/155 (withdrawn).”

The citation format includes:

  • Document number
  • Date (month/year)
  • Inventor(s) name
  • Classification
  • The word “(withdrawn)” at the end

For more information on citing withdrawn U.S. patents and patent application publications, refer to MPEP § 707.05(e), section III. PUBLICATIONS.

To learn more:

Tags: citation format