Non-profit
Mapcodes are free forever
The Mapcode Foundation is a non-profit organization established in the Netherlands to maintain mapcodes and keep them free for everyone, forever.
- Non-profit foundation
- Transparent annual accounts
- Public location standard
Free by purpose
Free by purpose
Mapcodes are not free as a temporary offer. The Foundation exists to foster mapcodes as a public location-encoding standard, and to provide, support, distribute and encourage their use free of charge, as widely as possible.
Protected by the Foundation
Protected by the Foundation
The Foundation holds the rights and intellectual property related to mapcodes and is the authorized entity that may maintain, change or adapt the software and tables.
- Holds the patents, rights, brands, designs, algorithms, data tables and other IP related to mapcodes
- Maintains the software and tables that define the system
- Supports broad distribution and adoption of mapcodes
A public-good addressing mission
A public-good addressing mission
Since April 2013, the Foundation has worked to make Mapcode available as a worldwide encoding system for representing any location on Earth with a short, recognizable and memorable code.
- Helps identify locations where street names or formal addressing systems are missing
- Supports citizens, dwellings and businesses in emerging economies and other underserved regions
- Contributes to the wider adoption of a free, structured addressing system
Governance and accountability
Governance and accountability
The Foundation publishes its governance information, policies and annual accounts so visitors can see how the public-good mission is supervised.
Organisation
The management of the Mapcode Foundation includes:
- Pieter Geelen (co-founder of TomTom) - Chairman of the Board
- Mark-Jan Sweers (Sr. Customer Experience Excellence Lead, Maersk) - Board Member
- Hugo van der Linde (CEO Deltilo Venture Management, CEO AND) - Board Member
- Rijn Buve (Executive Staff Engineer at TomTom) - Managing Director
Board members and the managing director do not receive any remuneration for their activities.
Advisory board
- J. Kim Fennell (CEO, deCarta, Head LBS, Uber)
- John Randall Copple (CEO Sanborn Maps)
- John Reynard (president EMEA & India, Cyient)
- Alain de Taeye (founder of Tele Atlas, Board member TomTom)
Advisory Board members do not receive any remuneration for their activities.
Policies and annual accounts
Policies and annual accounts
The Foundation publishes its targets, policies and annual accounts for transparency.
Targets and Policies
Annual accounts
The annual accounts of the Mapcode Foundation can be downloaded here: