Patents Before October 1852

When Edwin Budding and John Ferrabee applied to patent the design for the lawnmower, there was no main or centralised institution for patents. Instead, many separate Government and Judicial bodies were involved in the process:

• the inventor submitted a petition to the Crown via the Home Office at Whitehall in Westminster
• the Attorney General or Solicitor General reviewed the patent application to see if it was new and lawful
• if approved, the King's warrant was made by the monarch signing the documents
• the warrant passed to the Signet Office to prepare a bill
• The bill passed to the Privy Seal's Office, where the Lord Chancellor prepared the grant
• The Great Seal was put on the document by the Court of Chancery, at Lincolns Inn which was responsible for issuing, recording and litigating such matters 
• a short while, typically a few months, was allowed for a detailed specification to be finalised and then recorded in one of three Court of Chancery Offices in London: the Enrolment Office, the Petty Bag Office, or the Rolls Chapel.

The patent system was simplified from October 1852 when a singular Government body was created for Patents of Invention and Intellectual Property rights.

An example of litigation in relation to the evolution of the lawnmower can be seen in the case of Lewis v Davis where the invention of the Rotary Shearing Machine - Patent 4196 was debated.

It is not known whether Edwin Budding or John Ferrabee went to London in 1830 to register the patent.