Patent prosecution may be defined as the interaction between the two parties one is the applicant/s, or their representative/s and the other is a patent office in regard to a patent, or an application for a patent. Patent prosecution may come into play either pre-grant or post-grant. While pre-grant prosecution involves negotiation with a patent office for the grant of a patent, post-grant may involve issues such as post-grant amendment and opposition among others.

The rules relating to the patent prosecution are often laid in manuals released by patent offices. The Indian Patent Rules (Amended), 2003 describes and states the rules relating to the Indian Patent Office and how to prosecute in Indian context.