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Tree with Puzzle Pieces

Should someone have the patent to the tree with puzzle pieces?

  • Total voters
    4
  • Poll closed .
A

AJason

New Member
I have always thought that the tree with puzzle pieces was one of the most recognizable symbols of autism. Something that is seen on a majority of autism websites, shirts, and events.

Am I correct in my assumptions? If not please ignore this thread. I only ask because I recently discovered that Dr. who works in the autism community has patent and trademark the logo as theirs.

I researched on line and see hundreds of images with a tree and puzzle pieces. Would this mean that now we can not use tree with puzzle pieces without this individuals permission?
 
Actually, I am not familiar with any images of trees with puzzle pieces.
I have seen more than enough 'autism images' with puzzle pieces,
but don't remember any with trees and puzzle pieces.

I just now did a search using the words "tree puzzle pieces autism"
and came up with plenty of results. I don't remember seeing any of
them before, though.
 
tree said:
Actually, I am not familiar with any images of trees with puzzle pieces.
I have seen more than enough 'autism images' with puzzle pieces,
but don't remember any with trees and puzzle pieces.

I just now did a search using the words "tree puzzle pieces autism"
and came up with plenty of results. I don't remember seeing any of
them before, though.
Click to expand...

Do you have an opinion on the survey? Should it belong to the autism community or an individual/corporation?
 
I don't see why this is seemingly important; it's a tree w/ puzzle pieces. Plenty of other people/places associate the puzzle piece with the Autism Community, such as Autism $peaks even though they're absolutely terrible.

If a guy wants to have it be associated with himself, so be it. It's not like it's gonna devalue any other autism symbolism.
 
AJason said:
Should it belong to the autism community or an individual/corporation?
Click to expand...
It depends on
  • who came up with it?
  • why? and
  • if they have released it for general use?
You can't compel someone to give up their copyrights on a logo.
 
Never saw a tree with puzzle pieces. Can't be that ubiquitous.
 
A number of entities use the puzzle piece as a registered trademark. As far as individual state and federal trademark infringement concerns go, they depend on the individual attributes of the respective puzzle piece.

Once an entity secures such a trademark, it would seem to make debating the issue a moot point.
 
I had never heard of that so my brain spent a bit of time trying to rearrange the sentence into something it did understand, such as, "Should someone have the patience to do a puzzle of a tree?"

And I was gonna say no, they shouldn't, that sounds hard.

But now I see it's a thread about patent laws! :)
 
Last edited:
AJason said:
I have always thought that the tree with puzzle pieces was one of the most recognizable symbols of autism. Something that is seen on a majority of autism websites, shirts, and events.

Am I correct in my assumptions? If not please ignore this thread. I only ask because I recently discovered that Dr. who works in the autism community has patent and trademark the logo as theirs.

I researched on line and see hundreds of images with a tree and puzzle pieces. Would this mean that now we can not use tree with puzzle pieces without this individuals permission?
Click to expand...
I looked it up, and there are lots of variations on the basic theme of puzzle piece tree. They can trademark ONE particular design, but it cannot apply to all variations.
 
From what I have read about patents and trademarks, it depends on how others may want to use
a patented picture symbol for example.
If it is for personal use only and you are not claiming it as yours or using it on something you are
selling to make money, then it is not an infringement.
It is when you put a patented or copywritten photo in this case, on say a tee shirt, get a bunch of them
printed up and sell them without permission of the owner, then there is infringement.
 
Considering the at best apathy and at worst antipathy felt by autistic people towards the puzzle piece symbol in all it's variations, I don't think many people in the community would care to use this tree logo anyway.
I used the puzzle piece analogy in background graphics a couple of times because I was ambivalent to it, but since I discovered the intense feeling against it, I'll not do so again.
 
I think the tree variation of the puzzle theme is slightly better than just a flat puzzle, because signifies the potential for growth.

Still, I'm not wild about the puzzle theme overall. I think anything that represents autism should have more than just one right way to be put together.
 
I found one trademark matching that description. It's used by a single business or organization to represent them. You're supposed to see the image and think of that particular organization.

The trademark registration is here. It's registered to Dr. Rachel Yosick, an autism specialist in Atlanta. The trademark is used for "Providing an internet website featuring news and information relating to diagnosis and treatment of autism; Psychological services, namely, providing therapeutic services to children with autism and their families."

This appears to be a small business, not a major movement.

Here's the trademarked picture:
AutismTree.jpg


It cannot be patented. I'm not a lawyer, but I have spent hundreds of hours working with patent lawyers, and have over 150 patents myself.
 
Nervous Rex said:
Still, I'm not wild about the puzzle theme overall. I think anything that represents autism should have more than just one right way to be put together.
Click to expand...

Agreed. We might be a metaphorical mystery to the Neurotypical world, but one would hope for something that reflects understanding- and even a possible solution to such a mystery.

Not merely a "puzzle" that may be sending the wrong message. After all, would a question mark be the most appropriate and universal icon for science or religion? ;)
 
Last edited:
Judge said:
Agreed. We might be a metaphorical mystery to the Neurotypical world, but one would hope for something that reflects understanding- and even a possible solution to such a mystery.

Not merely a "puzzle" that may be sending the wrong message.
Click to expand...

That just coalesced my feelings perfectly - the puzzle is an NT perspective of autism, like "We just need to figure out where it belongs."
 
Personally I'm thinking the best symbol that has yet been used is the multicoloured ourobouros/infinity symbol (which is also used for neurodiversity).
I recently was tasked with creating a logo for a new Autism organisation, and to come up with something original was a hell of a challenge. Time will tell if I got it right ;)

Ourobouros logo:
3864956_0.jpg
 
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