Significantly, the process of applying for a patent was extremely complicated and largely set up to ensure fees were paid to various officials (patent fees formed a significant part of the stipend of the Attorney and Solicitor General). The Patents Law Amendment Act 1852 brought the process of patent grant into a single office serving the whole of the United Kingdom (where previously a petitioner had had to apply and pay fees to several offices, and to obtain separate patents for each of the UK's constituent nations).