5.1.3 Patent application trends Figure 5.1 shows the total number of patent applications (direct, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) national phase entry and European patent DE designation) filed in Germany from 2000 to 2019. Figure 5.1 Patent applications filed in Germany, 2000–2019 Source: WIPO IP Statistics Data Center, available at www3.wipo.int/ipstats/index.htm?tab=patent and EPO PATSTAT, available at www.epo.org/searching-for-patents/business/patstat.html