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1. The applicant for a registered EU design may request, when filing the application, that the publication of the registered EU design be deferred for a period of up to 30 months from the date of filing of the application or, if priority is claimed, from the date of priority.

2. Upon a request referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, where the conditions set out in Article 48 are satisfied, the registered EU design shall be registered, but neither the representation of the design nor any file relating to the application shall, subject to Article 74(2), be open to public inspection.

3. The Office shall publish in the EU Designs Bulletin an indication of a request referred to in paragraph 1. The indication shall be accompanied by information identifying the right holder of the registered design, the name of the representative, if any, the date of filing of the application and of registration of the design, and the file number of the application. Neither the representation of the design nor any particulars identifying its appearance shall be published.

4. At the expiry of the period of deferment, or at any earlier date requested by the right holder, the Office shall open to public inspection all the entries in the Register and the file relating to the application and shall publish the registered EU design in the EU Designs Bulletin.

5. The right holder may prevent publication of the registered EU design as referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, by submitting a request for surrender of the EU design in accordance with Article 51 at the latest three months before expiry of the period of deferment. Any requests for the entry of the surrender in the Register that do not comply with the requirements set out in Article 51 and the implementing acts adopted pursuant to Article 51a, or that are submitted after the three month-time limit referred to in this paragraph, shall be rejected.

6. In the case of a registration on the basis of a multiple application pursuant to Article 37, the holder shall, together with the request for earlier publication referred to in paragraph 4 or the request for surrender referred to in paragraph 5, clearly indicate which of the designs contained in that application are to be published earlier or surrendered and for which designs deferment of publication is to be continued.

7. If the holder fails to comply with the requirement set out in paragraph 6, the Office shall request the holder to remedy the deficiency within a specified time limit, which shall in no case expire after the 30-month deferment period.

8. Failure to remedy the deficiency referred to in paragraph 7 within the specified time limit shall result in the request for early publication being deemed not to have been filed or the request for surrender being rejected.

9. The institution of legal proceedings on the basis of a registered EU design during the period of deferment of publication shall be subject to the condition that the information contained in the Register and in the file relating to the application has been communicated to the person against whom the action is brought.