The rise in the number of patent, trademark and design applications in France in 1999 (07-2000) In 1999, 16 874 French Patent Applications have been filed to the French Patent and Trademark Office (13 592 applications of French origin), namely a 0.5% increase on 1998.  The European applications designating France amounted to 49 974 (of which 3 956 were of French origin), namely a 2.4% increase on 1998. The French trademark filings in France (first national filings) were on a very high rise in 1999, amounting to 65 261 (namely a 18.5% increase on 1998).  As for the Community filings, they have also increased in a very large extent, from 31 228 in 1998 to 41 242 in 1999 (namely a 32.1% increase). The number of filed French designs has also risen (8% increase), from 57 427 in 1998 (for 7 658 filings) to 62 042 in 1999 (for 8 091 filings).  (In France, a single filing may contain several designs).