11.3.8 Withdrawal of designation 

Subject to the final sentence of this paragraph, the applicant may withdraw a contracting state's states's designation at any time up to the patent's grant. A validly paid designation fee is not refunded when a designation is withdrawn. Withdrawing the designation of all contracting states results in the application being deemed withdrawn and the applicant being notified accordingly. A contracting state's designation may not be withdrawn from the date a third party proves to the EPO that they have initiated entitlement proceedings and up to the date when the EPO resumes proceedings for grant.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 Timely payment of designation fees will not cause those designations that have been withdrawn to be reactivated. Furthermore, no Rule 112(1) communication will be sent in respect of a failure to pay designation fees for any designation withdrawn.