Is there a real hurdle in patents on map graphics held by the major mapping companies and national organisations? Could a goal of being truly open and complete

Is there a real hurdle in patents on map graphics held by the major mapping companies and national organisations? Could a goal of being truly open and complete, be incompatible with the interests of privacy, national security even? If community involvement is lacking, I immediately thought about the cimnunies who have real interest in mapping and particularly free open mapping, such as conservationists, residents of small towns concerned about planning and in my home Sussex county, hikers always fighting losing out to farming interests over ancient byways. But these constituencies need tools. I would immediately donate to such efforts if I knew they existed. Or a corporate like ACDSystems, who publish Deneba Canvas which while sadly lost adrift far from the software I remember, incorporated superb GIS and technical drawing capabilities. This would be the kind of marketing that traditionally worked very well, tools and support for local news stories, which use to run a long while anyway.