Committee could approve Obama’s patent nominee Thursday

The Senate Judiciary Committee could send President Obama’s nominee to lead the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to the full chamber as soon as Thursday. 

Along with consideration of Obama’s attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch, the committee will also take up two technology-related nominees at its Thursday meeting. 

{mosads}The patent nominee Michelle Lee will be on the docket, as well as Daniel Henry Marti, who was nominated to become the White House’s Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator. 

Both nominees have testified twice before the committee in the last couple months, where they appeared to garner approval from both sides. Marti was on the docket at last week’s executive business meeting but was held over at the request of a senator. 

Lee, a former lawyer and patent head for Google, currently serves as deputy director for the patent office. She has the responsibilities of director, however, since the agency has not had a confirmed leader since January 2013.

The coordinator position that Marti is slated for has been open since August 2013. The committee’s leaders had previously pressed the administration to appoint a new one before Marti was nominated last September.