1.2 No publication; preventing publication 

The application is not published if it has been finally refused or deemed withdrawn or withdrawn before the technical preparations for publication are completed (see A‑VI, 1.1). These preparations are considered completed at the end of the day that comes five weeks before expiry of the 18th month following the filing or priority date (see the decision of the President of the EPO dated 12 July 2007, Special edition No. 3, OJ EPO 2007, D.1). The application is, however, published if, upon termination of the preparations, a request for a decision under Rule 112(2) has been received but no final decision has yet been taken (see OJ EPO 1990, 455) or if there is a pending request for re-establishment of rights under Art. 122 and Rule 136(1).

If, after termination of the preparations, the application is withdrawn, non-publication cannot be guaranteed. However, the EPO will endeavour (in accordance with the principles of J 5/81) to prevent publication on a case-by-case basis if the stage reached in the publication procedure permits this without undue effort (see the notice from the EPO dated 25 April 2006, OJ EPO 2006, 406).

The application may be withdrawn by means of a signed declaration, which should be unqualified and unambiguous (see J 11/80). EPO Form 1018, which can be downloaded free of charge from epo.org, ensures that the declaration is unambiguous (also in respect of any conditions for withdrawal). It is therefore highly recommended to use it for withdrawing the European patent application (see also the notice from the EPO dated 12 August 2019, OJ EPO 2019, A79). The applicant is bound by an effective declaration of withdrawal (see C‑V, 11) but may make it subject to the proviso that the content of the application not be made known to the public. This takes into account the procedural peculiarity that the applicant making the declaration of withdrawal less than in the five weeks before the date of publication cannot know whether publication can still be prevented. However, neither the application nor the designation of a contracting state may be withdrawn from the time a third party proves that they have initiated entitlement proceedings and up to the date on which the EPO resumes the proceedings for grant (see also E‑VIII, 8).