Page 56 - The Insurance Times February 2026

dence that the defendant may use to refute the claim media posts that featured a mural titled "Humanity." Fol-
against him; and second, to implement the principle that lowing the insurance company's consent to remove social
the law does not assist an inactive person who laments over media posts and other online content containing the mu-
his rights by permitting them to remain dormant when chal- ral, Justice Prathiba M Singh issued the following directive:
lenged or disputed, without resorting to litigation in a court "...as a result, the Defendant is obligated to remove the
of law." aforementioned listings within a period of 72 hours."

The maxim "Maximum vigilantibus, non dermientibus, jura The Plaintiffs may also provide the Defendant with any URLs
subveniunt" articulates the guiding principle behind this that serve as direct links to the mural in question on the
regulation: "The laws benefit those who are vigilant and not Defendant's posts. "The foregoing shall not prejudice the
those who are sleepy." Although, among other things, de- rights and disputes of either party." Under Section 2(c)(i) and
termining whether the present petition for a declaration of Section 13(1)(a) of the Copyright Act of 1957, St+art India
title was time-barred, the Division Bench of Justices asserted ownership of the artistic work in its lawsuit. As
Hrishikesh Roy and Sanjay Karol rendered these remarks. acknowledged in Section 57 of the statute, the organiza-
Given these circumstances, the Court granted the appeal tion additionally claimed moral rights over the production.
but determined that the lawsuit is not maintainable due to In accordance with the lawsuit, the mural was jointly pro-
the statute of limitations. duced by an artist and St+art India in accordance with a
contractual arrangement, without any third-party licensing
of rights.
The Delhi High Court orders Acko General
The insurance company faced allegations that it exploited
Insurance to remove social media posts
the morals for commercial gain through social media posts
that feature the 'Humanity' mural by and billboard advertisements. The insurance company's

St+art India. counsel concluded that the dispute had been resolved as a
result of the plaintiff organization's legal notices and that
Case Title: ST+ART India Foundation & Anr. V. the insurance company did not anticipate any additional liti-
Acko General Insurance gation. An additional point was made regarding the removal
of the hoarding itself. As part of the lawsuit summonses,
Summary Justice Singh noted that the hoarding that incorporated the
St+art India, a public art organization, filed a copyright in- mural is unmistakably an advertisement and that, despite
fringement complaint against insurance company Acko Gen- the insurance company's confirmation of its removal, the
eral Insurance in the Delhi High Court. The suit ordered Acko mural continued to persist on online platforms. In accor-
to remove its social media posts featuring a mural titled dance with the Copyright Act of 1957, the court noted that
"Humanity." St+art India claimed ownership of the artistic a determination is necessary regarding whether the insur-
work and moral rights over the production. The insurance ance company's conduct constituted fair dealing.
company faced allegations of exploiting the moral for com-
"In the current instance, it is indisputable that the
mercial gain through social media posts and billboard ad-
defendant's advertisement replicated the mural. It was not
vertisements. The court determined that the defendant's
possible to assume that the work in question was in the
advertisement replicated the mural, and an examination
public domain and could be utilized in the manner described
would be necessary to determine whether the conduct con-
by the Defendant. This also applies to advertising, albeit for
stituted fair dealing or fair use. The court issued the order
a social cause, as opposed to simple public discourse. The
provisionally, allowing St+art India to provide any URLs that
court stated that in light of the defendant's use for a com-
serve as direct links to the mural in question.
mercial purpose, an examination would be necessary to
About the case determine whether the conduct constituted fair dealing or
St+art India, an organization that works on public art fair use. As an additional clarification, the court stated that
projects, filed a copyright infringement complaint against it had not rendered a verdict on the legal issues at hand
insurance company Acko General Insurance in the Delhi High and that the order had been issued provisionally, in light of
Court. The suit ordered the company to remove its social the insurance company's arguments. R

The Insurance Times February 2026 49