New Delhi, Oct. 29 -- Company Outsider is a weekly newsletter by Sundeep Khanna.

Twenty-five years is a long time. Longer than many marriages, many careers, and the entire lifespan of several companies that were born and died in that time. This is how long Mars Wrigley and Cadbury spent in Indian courts fighting over the word 'Celebrations.'

The irony is unmistakable. Two chocolate companies whose businesses have been built on spreading joy were locked in mortal combat over a word that literally means happiness. Delhi High Court's Justice Sanjeev Narula, while approving a settlement reached by both parties, said the term Celebrations became "the epicentre of legal contest, its cheerful ring turning into a matter of serious deliberation ...