Gov. John Lynch's veto of a "right to publicity" bill motivated by J.D. Salinger's family will stand, after the New Hampshire Senate failed to get enough votes to override it.
The bill would have extended the state's "common law right to control the commercial use of one's identity" for 70 years beyond someone's death. It was sponsored at the request of Salinger's heirs who said they were offended by the use of "The Catcher in the Rye" author's image and name on items such as coffee mugs.
Salinger, who died in 2010, spent much of his life in rural Cornish.
Lynch said the bill would potentially have a "chilling effect" on legitimate journalistic and expressive works protected by the state and federal constitutions.
