The Great Gatsby and the American Dream Essay - 933 Words

Wealth, material possessions, and power are the core principles of The American Dream. Pursuit of a better life led countless numbers of foreign immigrants to America desiring their chance at the vast opportunity. Reaching the American Dream is not always reaching true happiness. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby achieves the American Dream, but his unrealistic faiths in money and life’s possibilities twist his dreams and life into useless life based on lies. Jay Gatsby believes he can buy happiness. For example, Gatsbys house is â€Å" A factual imitation of some Hotel De Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn†¦show more content†¦With money, Gatsby believes that anything is possible. He does all he can to buy his happiness, yet he lacks the foresight to see the worthlessness of his efforts. Gatsby’s obsessions are not limited too simply possessing wealth, but they also extend to the manner in which it was acquired as well. First Gatsby claims having attended Oxford, and even goes so far as to flaunt Nick a picture,â€Å" A souvenir of his Oxford days†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (71). Gatsby openly avoids mentioning how long he was at Oxford and why he was there. The small dishonest taste that Gatsby has of Oxford only serves to make his desire to change the past more consuming than ever before. Gatsby wants a simpler time, a better time with more noble aspirations. Gatsby uses the photograph to undo his past. In addition, Gatsby furthers the tales of his grand life insisting that he lived in all the capitols of Europe like a rajah. Fitzgerald proves Gatsby’s stories to be lies beyond any reasonable doubt. Jay sounds like a fool, and his condescending willingness to underestimate the intelligence of his listeners proves he acts as a fool. Gatsby’s false stories s uck him deeper and deeper into the abyss that is self-worthlessness. Finally, the rainbow that Jay Gatsby follows through life has the ultimate treasure at the end –true love. The desperate alteration of his past serves only one purpose, to impress the shallow Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby innocently assumes that his money and accomplishments can buy anything – evenShow MoreRelatedThe American Dream : The Great Gatsby Essay1568 Words   |  7 PagesThe American Dream: The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story on the surface, but its most commonly understood as a suspicious critic of the American Dream. In the novel Jay Gatsby overcomes his poor past to gain an incredible amount of money and a limited amount of social cache of in the 1920s NYC, only to be rejected by the â€Å"old money† crowd. The focus of my paper would be the pathway towards the American Dream and how it affects the person and others around. The American dreamRead MoreThe Great Gatsby and the American Dream1401 Words   |  6 PagesThe Real American Dream Since its institution, the United States has been revered as the ultimate land of ceaseless opportunity. People all around the world immigrated to America to seek quick wealth, which was predominately seen in the new Modern era. Beginning in the late 1800s to the early 1900s, the period introduced progressive ideas into society and the arts. Accompanying these ideas was a loss of faith in the American Dream and the promise America once guaranteed, especially after WorldRead MoreThe Great Gatsby and the American Dream1442 Words   |  6 PagesPursuit of Happiness. This sentiment can be considered the foundation of the American Dream, the dream that everyone has the ability to become what he or she desires to be. While many people work to attain their American dream, others believe that the dream is seemingly impossible to reach, like F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby examines the Jazz-Age generations search for the elusive American Dream of wealth and happiness and scrutinizes the consequences of that generationsRead MoreThe American Dream ( The Great Gatsby )1173 Words   |  5 PagesSLIDE. *POINTS TO PICTURE LIVING IN THE AMERICAN DREAM (THE GREAT GATSBY). Did anyone notice anything that caused a change in society between these two pictures? *POINTS TO SOMEONE WITH ONE OF THE ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ/QUESTION. READS OUT THE RAPID ECONOMIC BOOMING AND GREED. *NEXT SLIDE. That’s correct! During the 1920s of the Jazz Age in concurrence with the â€Å"Roaring Twenties†, America had experienced a rapid economic booming after World War I. The American society experienced an economic and politicalRead MoreThe Great Gatsby American Dream1414 Words   |  6 Pagesfilm is based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It follows Jay Gatsby, a man who molds his life around one desire: to be reunited with Daisy Buchanan, the love he lost five years earlier. Gatsby s quest leads him from poverty to wealth, into the arms of his beloved, and eventually to death. Nick Caraway is the narrator, or storyteller, of The Great Gatsby, as well as Daisy s cousin who happens to live next door to Great Gatsby. Daisy represents the paragon of perfection. She has the aura of charmRead MoreThe Great Gatsby and the American Dream773 Words   |  3 Pagesimportant items. The American Dream is a huge achievement that everyone wants to reach. Whether people want to admi t it or not, it is a symbol all it’s self. It can be anything really, a great job, a family, white picket fence, even music or attending concerts of your favorite band. The American Dream is something that makes you so happy and what you can achieve or want achieve in your lifetime. The main AMerican Dream is money, a family, and happiness. In The Great Gatsby the american dream is a green lightRead MoreAmerican Dream In The Great Gatsby1366 Words   |  6 PagesThe American Dream has various implications for diverse individuals. For some people, the concept implies that one can accomplish his or her objectives and goals through living this dream. To others, it provides a beacon of hope, as an open door that individuals desperately desire to enter in pursuit of opportunities. The Americans after World War I, boosted by the emotions of the war, had an uncontrollable vigor about accomplishing and displaying an extravagant way of life and achieving a high socialRead MoreThe Ame rican Dream In The Great Gatsby1097 Words   |  5 PagesThe Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was one that was highly centralized around the American Dream. The American Dream is the belief that anyone can become successful in America if they worked hard enough. The dream did not discriminate anyone and that is why many people worked towards it. In the novel, it shows that not everyone was living the American Dream but were separated by the social classes of wealth, race, and intelligence. The 1920s in America was a roaringRead MoreThe Great Gatsby : The American Dream927 Words   |  4 Pages2017 The Poor Man’s Dream Many believe that America is the land of riches, where anyone can become rich and wealthy. This idea is known as the American Dream, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for a successful living. However, this ethos is completely false, and is nothing more than exactly that - a dream. Throughout the award-winning work of F. Scott Fitzgerald, â€Å"The Great Gatsby†, he gathers criticism about the American Dream. He denounces the dream by shedding the lightRead MoreThe Great Gatsby And The American Dream1771 Words   |  8 Pages 5/30/17 Of Gatsby and His Unattainable Dream The American dream is a concept that has been wielded into American literature throughout history. Projecting the contrast between the American dream and reality, F. Scott Fitzgerald incorporates his opinions, primarily based off of his experiences and tribulations in World War I, throughout his literary works.Many people believe that deplorable moral and social values have evolved from the materialistic pursuit of the American dream especially throughout

How Rock N Roll Changed America Essay - 1241 Words

Rock ‘n’ roll has played a major role in some known historical developments post World War 2. Music plays a significant part in America s Cold War culture. Music gave us a sense of new technologies and helped the world to prosper. It also is linked with African Americans living in the South. Music was known for shaping the lives of the people during the 1950s and 1960s. Music was geared towards the youth, race, ethnicity, gender and class. â€Å"All Shook Up: How Rock ‘n’ Roll Changed America† by Altschuler, Glenn C, tells us the story of the birth of rock and roll during the concrete years of 1955 to 1965. Altschuler gives us a overview of how rock ‘n’ roll has an historical context. â€Å" For two years the Times printed dozens of†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"The rise of rock ‘n’ roll and the reception of it, in fact, can tell us a lot about the culture and values of the United States in the 1950s. According to historians James Gilbert, there was a struggle throughout the decade ‘over the uses of popular culture to determine who would speak to what audience, and for what purpose†. At the center of that struggle, rock ‘n’ roll unsettled a nation had been â€Å"living in an ‘age of anxiety’† since 1945† (p.15). Altschuler talks about how music and race interlock with one another. Rock had become a â€Å"highly visible and contested arena for struggles over racial identity and cultural and economic empowerment in the United States† (p.35). Other chapters within the book state the battles involving sexuality, generational conflicts, as well as other social issues. The author states ideas that are somewhat problematic. For example, he states that there is a myth that rock ‘n’ roll went into a â€Å"lull† following the payola hearings (the practice of record promoters paying DJs or radio programmers to play their label s songs) of 1959 and did not come about again until the arrival of the Beatles in 1964. Rock ‘n’ roll presented us with the emergence of a cultural phenomenon, which the book lays out for us. Altschuler sees rock as a â€Å"metaphor for integration, as the focal point for anxiety that cultural life in the U.S. had become â€Å"sexualized†, a catalystShow MoreRelatedRock And Roll : Rock Roll1169 Words   |  5 PagesRey Marinas Mus160 CRN 10962 Homework # 2 Rock Roll Rock music has come a long way since its development in the early 20th century. The genre, defined â€Å"as a merger between rhythmblues and country† (Scaruffi, The History of Rock Music:1955-1966), started out more as an underground market, but ended up becoming a significant aspect of American popular music history. Rock-n-Roll music produce many legendary artists who will forever be known as innovators of the genre. Elvis Presley and ChuckRead MoreElvis Presley Essay1096 Words   |  5 PagesElvis Presley Essay When historians look at history and at reasons why society changed many focus on conflicts like wars, civil rights, and poverty. However, there is so much more that over time changed America. One of the most influential subjects that helped this change was Elvis Presley. Through his music, which was influenced by black artists, he allowed white Americans to view a new group of performers. He tested social boundaries that helped him change American culture. His appearance andRead MoreElvis Presley s Era And Rock N Roll Genre1624 Words   |  7 PagesElvis Presley Paramusical Analysis This essay will examine how the 1950’s era and rock n roll genre is represented in Elvis Presley’s 1956 popular recording â€Å"Hound Dog†. The African American rhythm and blues influences will also be studied through the paramusical factors and the musical features. This will be discussed as African American female blues singer Big Mama Thornton’s original 1952 recording of â€Å"Hound Dog† was covered and popularised by Elvis without compromising the original African AmericanRead MoreBlack Men Can’t Rock? Towards an Understanding of The Lack of Black Men in Rock Music2211 Words   |  9 Pagesyou expect now? Funk? Reggae? For very few people rock music would come to mind. Indeed their guess would be pretty much anything but rock. In this paper I intend to explore possible reasons for this. My intention initially was to explore the reasons for the lack of black men and women in modern indie music. However, during research I came to the conclusion that many of the reasons for this situation could be found at the dawn of rock n roll, and since then they have become entrenched and takenRead MoreOf the many historical eras, the 1960 era is regarded as one of the most controversial eras ever in1200 Words   |  5 PagesOf the many historical eras, the 1960 era is regarded as one of the most controversial eras ever in the history of America. However, this was not the anticipation that most of American citizens had. At the very beginning of the 1960s, many believed that this was perhaps the most promising era yet. They even dubbed this era the golden age. The expectations of the people intensified in 1961 when John F. Kennedy took the office of the president. His charisma and enthusiasm won the hearts and trust ofRe ad MoreFeminist Analysis : Not August Cleaver Edited By Joanne Meyerowitz Essay1790 Words   |  8 Pagesthe domestic realm to the public, especially during post-war America between the years of 1945-1960. Throughout history, women’s lives were limited to bearing and raising children, they were left oppressed and without a voice. Roles of women have changed over the decades and they have gone from being the property of their husbands to achieving independence in all areas of American culture. The stereotype of the woman in postwar America was â€Å"the quintessential white middle-class housewives who stayedRead MorePleasantville Essay1690 Words   |  7 PagesPleasantville Essay A lot can happen in sixty years, and America is no exception to that statement. It is arguable that one of the biggest differences regarding America in the 1950s to modern America is culture. The movie â€Å"Pleasantville† reflects much of these cultural differences from 1950s to today in a creative and thoughtful way. It also provides much useful insight into the cultural conflicts America faced throughout the 1950s. The many differences between 1950s culture and modern day cultureRead MoreMUSI 1002 Notes2546 Words   |  11 PagesSerious vs. Popular music Differences: Degree of standardization Level of complexity Market context Adorno: Could take a chorus out and still makes sense. Serious, needs to listen to entirety to understand song. Real difference is market context, how it’s consumed. Serious is NOT market oriented Popular IS market oriented. Role of the listener Caught up in a standardized and routine set of responses Superficial pleasure â€Å"slave to the rhythm† people who enjoy this are corrupted and openRead MoreEssay on The Hard Rock Company2194 Words   |  9 PagesThe Hard Rock Cafà © (HRC) and the Hard Rock Hotels / Casinos is a highly successful series of ventures that serves up fun, music, food, nostalgia and beverage. The HRC is also famous for its music collectibles, including guitars used by icons in the industry (i.e. Madonna, Jimi Hendrix, etc), fashion merchandise, live concerts, and Hard Rock Live performance venues. The first Hard Rock Cafà © was opened on June 14, 1971, in London, England. Founded by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton, HRC became wellRead More Black Music and the Civil Rights Movement Essay3856 Words   |  16 Pagesreformation. One such cultural revival took place in this nation after the closing of the Second World War. The progressive thought of the ‘50s nurtured new ideas and cultures including the Civil Rights Movement and the fast spread of rock and roll. In an essay entitled â€Å"Color† written to Esquire magazine in 1962 the essayist James Baldwin describes the revival of white culture after WWII with the following passage: The Puritan dicta still inhabit and inhibit the American body and soul. Joy

Causes and Effects of Drug Abuse - 1905 Words

Many people do not understand why individuals become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to foster compulsive drug abuse. They mistakenly view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem and may characterize those who take drugs as morally weak. One very common belief is that drug abusers should be able to just stop taking drugs if they are only willing to change their behavior. What people often underestimate is the complexity of drug addiction—that it is a disease that impacts the brain and because of that, stopping drug abuse is not simply a matter of willpower. Through scientific advances we now know much more about how exactly drugs work in the brain, and we also know that drug addiction can be successfully†¦show more content†¦As a result, dopamines impact on the reward circuit is lessened, reducing the abusers ability to enjoy the drugs and the things that previously brought pleasure. This decrease compels those addicted to drugs to keep a busing drugs in order to attempt to bring their dopamine function back to normal. And, they may now require larger amounts of the drug than they first did to achieve the dopamine high—an effect known as tolerance.Long-term abuse causes changes in other brain chemical systems and circuits as well. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter that influences the reward circuit and the ability to learn. When the optimal concentration of glutamate is altered by drug abuse, the brain attempts to compensate, which can impair cognitive function. Drugs of abuse facilitate nonconscious (conditioned) learning, which leads the user to experience uncontrollable cravings when they see a place or person they associate with the drug experience, even when the drug itself is not available. Brain imaging studies of drug-addicted individuals show changes in areas of the brain that are critical to judgment, decisionmaking, learning and memory, and behavior control. Together, these changes can drive an abuser to seek out and take drugs compulsively despite adverse consequences—in other words, to become addicted to drugs. Why do some peopleShow MoreRelatedCause and Effects of Teen Drug Abuse1832 Words   |  8 PagesTeen Drug Abuse in America In today’s society drugs are taking away our children’s lives and it is making headlines every day. â€Å"In Vancouver, Washington, a 13-year old boy was found dead after allegedly swallowing twenty-four cold-medicine pills to get high† (Taylor 45). â€Å"Nine Florida middle-school students were taken to the hospital after their strange behavior and illness at school led school officials to discover that they had overdosed on an over-the-counter cold medication† (Taylor 45). â€Å"ARead MoreCauses And Effects Of Drug Abuse And Mental Illness2575 Words   |  11 PagesSaatkamp English lll Mrs. Robinson 24 November, 2014 Outline Causes abuse Drugs abuse and mental illness is a cause in a way that the abusers abuses their victims. Causes of abuse is when the abuser lived with someone in the past that abused him or her or someone in the household. Effects Many Victims suffer from long-term abuse Many short-term effects are broken bones, internal bleeding and head trauma. Signs of abuse Emotional abuse including threats to harm the victims family, friends, childrenRead MoreEssay On The Effects Of Drugs739 Words   |  3 Pagesof things that can harm your body. A major one is drug. Not only does drugs harm your body, but also effect your behavior and people around you. Drugs come in many forms, from drinking to smoking. â€Å"Tobacco is one of the world most used drug, and it’s responsible for an estimated 5 million deaths worldwide each year† (Addiction and Health). Abusing drugs can cause mental, health problems, and also effect the people around you. The use of drugs cause people to experience mental issues such as behaviorRead MoreTitle Of The Lesson: Dangers Of Prescription Drugs Grade1271 Words   |  6 PagesPrescription Drugs Grade Level: 6th Grade # Of students: 20 Students Teacher Focus: I will be working on using proximity in my lesson by paying attention to when students are off task and need to be redirected by walking around them to redirect their attention to the lesson. Purpose/Curriculum Focus: †¢ The class has been working on a substance abuse unit. Today we are focusing on the dangers of prescription drug abuse while incorporating it into our language unit of cause and effect. Iowa CoreRead MorePersuasive Essay On Drug Abuse1228 Words   |  5 PagesToday, drug abuse has become a controversial subject where various individuals have different views. Substance abuse is a substantial dilemma among people and easily spread in schools, work environments, and even in homes. Drug abuse starts in utterly reasons, but can begin in adolescence with peer pressure or friends using them, family environment that has violent, physical, or emotional abuse, and inherited genetics with mental health conditions as depression, anxiety, or ADHD (National InstituteRead MorePrescription Drug Abuse1298 Words   |  5 PagesPrescription drugs are being taken for reasons other than the ones they are being prescribed for, fueling an addiction that impacts as many as 48 million Americans (Prescription Drug Abuse WebMD). According to MedLinePlus, an estimated 20 percent of people in the United States have used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons. This is prescription drug abu se. While a considerable amount of time, resources, and attention are focused on the problems associated with illicit drugs, prescription drug abuseRead MoreEssay Drug Abuse and Mental Health 1194 Words   |  5 PagesSubstance abuse complicates almost every aspect of care for the person with a mental disorder. When drugs enter the brain, they can interrupt the work and actually change how the brain performs its jobs; these changes are what lead to compulsive drug use. Drug abuse plays a major role when concerning mental health. It is very difficult for these individuals to engage in treatment. Diagnosis for a treatment is difficult because it takes time to disengage the interacting effects of substance abuse and theRead MoreThe Movie The Wolf On Wall Street Essay1369 Words   |  6 PagesDaring to Defy Drug Abuse If you have ever seen the movie The Wolf on Wall Street, there is no doubt you have seen the effects drugs can have. Leonardo DiCaprio portrays a high-strung stock broker reliant on a multitude of illegal drugs to keep up with his hectic life style. His addiction gets so severe that at one point in the movie, he is lying on the floor, unable to move due to the drugs’ effects on his body. Even though the movie is set in the 90’s, a decade infamous for its use of drugs, today, drugRead MoreNarcotics - Research Paper in English1059 Words   |  5 Pagesexcessive use of narcotics can endanger people’s lives because of its damaging effects on the mind and body. I. Narcotics Education A. Narcotics B. Kinds of Narcotics C. Characteristics and Medical Uses II. Narcotics Abuse A. Causes of Abuse B. Tolerance and Withdrawal III. Effects of Narcotics Abuse A. Effects on the Person B. Effects on the Family C. Effects on the Community IV. Treatment of Drug Abusesâ€Æ' INTRODUCTION Narcotics play a big role in the field of medicine. It hasRead MorePrescription Drug Abuse And Its Effects952 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Prescription drug abuse is the use of a medication without a prescription, in a way other than as prescribed, or for the experience or feelings elicited.† Prescription Drugs are ranked number two in drugs abused (Volkow 7). The most common prescription drugs abused are opioids, central nervous system depressants, and stimulants. Opioids were meant to treat pain. CNS depressants are meant to treat sleep disorders and anxiety. Stimulants treat sleep disorders, narcolepsy and ADHD (unknown 8) What

Ck Claridge inc free essay sample

Purcell hoped that by the end of the afternoon, aided by Schilling’s insights, he would be able to establish a course of action that might hasten the final settlement of a patent suit brought against CKC three years earlier by the Tolemite Corporation and its licensee, Barton Research and Development (BARD). The Contenders CKC was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1948 as a commercial outlet for the inventive genius of Dr. Charles K. Claridge, an astute organic chemist. Dr. Claridge owned and managed the company until 1996, when, desiring to retire, he sold it along with all of its patents and products to Arnoux Industries, a small Chicago-based conglomerate. CKC continued to prosper as an Arnoux subsidiary and by 2009 had projected annual sales of about $105 million, 14% of the Arnoux total. About 10% of CKC’s sales in 2009 were derived from a chemical component called Varacil, whose manufacturing process was the subject of the patent suit. We will write a custom essay sample on Ck Claridge inc or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The remainder of its sales included a wide range of specialty organic chemical products, sold in relatively small volume, primarily to the pharmaceutical industry. Tolemite, also headquartered in Chicago, was a chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturer with estimated 2009 sales in excess of $3. 0 billion. In 2000 Tolemite had been awarded a 17-year patent covering various aspects of a new, low-cost process for synthesizing Varacil. The techniques covered by the patent had been discovered at Tolemite’s research facility in 1994 as an offshoot of another project. (Tolemite had filed a patent application in early 1995. ) Since Tolemite was neither a user nor a producer of Varacil, it had decided to offer the use of the patent, under license, to BARD, the principal Varacil producer in the United States. As drugs requiring Varacil had been phased out, new ones requiring the compound had typically appeared. Furthermore, industry leaders had no reason to believe that this stability would be lost over the next several years; they projected industry unit sales to be quite flat as far as five to ten years out. On the dollar value side, however, the story was quite different. Prices for Varacil had been in decline for several years. When converting to the synthetic process, each competitor in the industry had tooled up to supply an optimistic share of the market. Then, when market share objectives were not met, prices were slashed in an attempt to keep manufacturing facilities operating at efficient levels and to bring in as much contribution as possible toward fixed costs. This situation was expected to continue for at least five years. Exhibit 1 shows industry unit and dollar sales of synthetic Varacil for the period 2000-2009, as well as management’s projections for 2010-2020. In 2009 there were seven principal competitors in the synthetic Varacil market. BARD, with $60 million in sales, took roughly 66% of the market. CKC, with about $10 million in sales, was the Upon filing of the suit, CKC’s process engineers had tried hard to develop a process modification that avoided infringing the patent in the manner that the CKC-discovered process allegedly did, but after a year of trying determined that this was not feasible. 2 C. K. Claridge, Inc. 910-045 second largest and held an 11% share. The remaining five competitors, none of whose Varacil sales exceeded $6 million, then constituted the remaining 23% of the market. By 2006 all seven of the principal competitors were manufacturing synthetic Varacil by nearly identical processes. Only BARD, however, was paying royalties to Tolemite. Based on the logic of the lawsuit, the other producers were technically infringing the patent. Background on the Litigation On June 12, 2006, Tolemite (as the patent owner) and BARD (with sublicensing rights) had jointly filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin charging CKC with having infringed on Tolemite’s patent. To remedy the infringement, Tolemite and BARD were seeking an injunction against future infringement over the ten years remaining on the 17-year life of the patent, as well as damages equivalent to license royalty payments of 20% on Claridge’s past and future sales of synthetic Varacil. When confronted with the suit, Purcell had immediately discussed the matter with Aaron Mantiris, general counsel for Arnoux Industries. Both had felt there was considerable evidence indicating that Tolemite’s process might not be patentable. At Mantiris’ suggestion, CKC had retained the services of Evans and Blaylock, a well-known and highly reputable firm of intellectual property attorneys in New York. These attorneys quickly agreed with Mantiris on the potential weakness of the Tolemite suit. Thus, in 2006, Evans and Blaylock had begun to intensively prepare the case for CKC’s defense. Tolemite’s patent contained 12 claims of originality. Like all successful patent applicants, Tolemite had had to demonstrate to the patent examiners that there was no â€Å"prior art,† e. g. previous patents, applied-for patents, or processes in the public domain—unpatentable, but generally known—that were similar. In fact, there were many instances of patents being successfully challenged. However, once a patent was issued, the burden lay with a potential infringer to prove that the claimed invention was unpatentable. And, unless there was a serious irregularity such as fraud associated with its issuance, a patent was treated as valid unless and until it was legally invalidated. In the matter of synthetic Varacil, Mantiris argued that Tolemite had not, in fact, introduced any novelty, but had merely observed and harnessed a naturally occurring process that, in itself, was not patentable. A patent holder whose patent was infringed was entitled to sue the infringer for damages to compensate for sales and profit wrongfully obtained. In awarding damages in a case like that brought jointly by BARD and Tolemite against CKC, a court would almost certainly consider a reasonable royalty and the plaintiff’s lost profits—with the award potentially trebled in the case of egregious circumstances, which seemed unlikely in this suit. In determining the amount to be demanded in a lawsuit, the plaintiff usually calculated these damages in a way most favorable to itself. However, if the plaintiff prevailed in court, the actual damages awarded were often considerably less. In the Varacil matter it was the strongly held opinion of both Mantiris and the Evans and Blaylock lawyers—based on considerable comparable experience, relevant legal precedents, and other datathat although the suit specified a 20% royalty payment, the amount awarded if CKC lost the suit would be equivalent to approximately 10% royalties on past and future sales through the life of the patent. Purcell was persuaded of the accuracy of this assessment; as was common, in the view of CKC and its attorneys, the plaintiffs had claimed an amount roughly double their likely awardif they ended up prevailing in court.