11.2.4 Withdrawal of designation 

Subject to the final sentence of this paragraph, the applicant may withdraw the designation of one or more contracting states at any time up to the patent's grant. Withdrawing the designation of all contracting states results in the application being deemed withdrawn and the applicant being notified accordingly.

In neither case is a validly paid designation fee refunded (see A‑X, 10.1.1).

A contracting state's designation may not be withdrawn from the date a third party proves to the EPO that they have initiated entitlement proceedings and up to the date when the EPO resumes proceedings for grant.

The applicant may withdraw designations when filing the European patent application, e.g. to avoid overlapping prior national rights with the priority application according to Art. 139(3). Timely payment of the designation fee will not cause those designations that have been withdrawn to be reactivated.

For European divisional applications, see A‑IV, 1.3.4.