Frequently Asked Questions

Overture map data will evolve over time. Initially, we are focusing on layers for transportation, places, 3D buildings and administrative boundaries data. To support next-generation map products, Overture will steadily improve the coverage, resolution and accuracy of existing data. In addition, Overture will introduce new layers as the community prioritizes them.

Consider joining Overture as a member. We have four tiers of membership that are aimed at any size company, non-profit, government agency or other organization. As a member, you can help define the direction of the project and contribute your data directly to Overture. Look here for more information on membership.

You can also email us at data@overturemaps.org if you’re interested in contributing open data, or if you have questions or concerns.

The Overture Maps Foundation has four tiers of membership to accommodate all interested organizations wanting to work to build open map data. It is expected that members will be active contributors to Overture’s mission via direct data contributions, technology support, development time, and financial resources. The level of contribution determines the level at which a member will influence the priorities of the Project:

Steering Members: Steering Members participate on the Steering Committee, which provides long term direction and guidance for the Overture Maps Foundation. The Steering Committee sets the priorities, direction and budget for the Project. They approve new working groups and set priorities across working groups to define the outcomes of Overture. Steering members can also chair, vote and participate in Working Groups.

General Members: General members impact the Overture Maps Foundation at the Working Group level. General members can chair Working Groups and participate as voting members in the Working Group decisions. They set the direction and priorities of the Working Groups. General Members can also propose new Working Groups or areas for focus to the Overture Steering Committee

Contributor Members: Contributor members bring critical data sets, technology or expertise to the Working Groups. They participate in the Working Groups and expand the expertise of those groups by contributing to the goals and technical direction. They do not have voting rights in the Working Groups.

Qualified Non-Profits/Government: Overture Maps can provide widespread distribution of important GIS data sets made available and open by Government and non-profit organizations. These members have full participation in the Working Groups at the Contributor Member level.

Membership in the Linux Foundation is a prerequisite to joining Overture.

The membership process for Overture is best started by indicating interest on the Overture Maps Foundation website. This first step is to help answer any questions you may have before joining.. 

There are options to move directly to the membership process or ask questions about Overture. The membership process involves three steps:

1. Ready to join – Click here to submit your application.
2. Once you’ve submitted your application, you’ll be requested to complete a Membership Questionnaire: This is intended to outline the level of membership, the Working Groups in which the organization would like to participate and the contributions that the organization intends to make to the project. 
3. Once the membership questionnaire has been received and reviewed, the Overture Maps Foundation membership agreement will be forwarded. This is a contractual agreement that outlines the rights and responsibilities of each party involved in the project. The member organization is required to sign this agreement before being allowed to participate in the Overture Maps Foundation activities. If the member organization is not already a member of the Linux Foundation, an additional agreement will need to be signed as well. Upon signing these agreements, the member organization can officially join the Overture Maps Foundation.

If there are any questions, please send an email to membership@overturemaps.org. 

Overture is a data-centric map project, not a community of individual map editors. Therefore, Overture is intended to be complementary to OSM. We combine OSM with other sources to produce new open map data sets. Overture data will be available for use by the OpenStreetMap community under compatible open data licenses. Overture members are encouraged to contribute to OSM directly.

Generally, Overture data is licensed under the Community Database License Agreement – Permissive v2 (CDLA) unless derived from a source that requires publishing under a different license, such as data derived from OpenStreetMap, that constitutes a “Derivative Database” (as defined under ODbL v1.0), which will be licensed under ODbL v1.0.

Overture considers (A) any maps or outcomes obtained by computational analysis that are created using Overture data licensed under CDLA Permissive v 2.0, or (B) the supplementing of (1) a Data Recipient’s content or (2) a third-party’s data – in either case, obtained through computational analysis – with CDLA Permissive v.2-licensed data from Overture, to be “Results” and according to Section 3, not subject to the requirement to provide the text of the license.

Overture will release its first datasets in the first half of 2023. We’re working through our plans and will share more details as soon as we’re ready.

Overture will develop open source code to help developers process and effectively use Overture map data and the global entity reference system. Code will be available on GitHub.