Patent examination is the process by which a patent office reviews a patent application to determine if it meets the necessary legal requirements for granting a patent. This includes assessing the invention's novelty, non-obviousness, and usefulness. The examiner evaluates the application against existing patents and literature to ensure that the invention is indeed new and not already disclosed. During the examination, the applicant may need to respond to questions or objections raised by the examiner. This back-and-forth can lead to amendments in the application. Once the examination is complete and if the application meets all criteria, a patent is granted, providing the inventor exclusive rights to their invention.