"The DOI^® System represents a significant step forward in the exchange of information in electronic form. Please join us in developing and shaping the infrastructure for electronic publishing and information dissemination, and ensuring the effective respect of copyright."

The Foundation was created in 1998 and supports the needs of the intellectual property community in the digital environment, by the development and promotion of the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) System as a common infrastructure for content management. The Foundation is a registered not-for-profit organization, controlled by an Executive Board elected by the members of the Foundation.

The activities of the Foundation are controlled by its members. Membership is open to all organizations with an interest in electronic publishing and related enabling technologies. We also welcome comments and participation from non-members. Much of our work is informal, via e-mail and discussion groups; please feel free to contact me directly and subscribe to DOI News to learn more about our activities.

Since beginning our work, we have created a system which integrates a persistent identifier of intellectual property entities (creations), a reliable resolution system, and associated metadata which enables the construction of services in the digital environment. The DOI System is now being used in large scale implementations, with more applications under development.

Our community has a lot to be proud of: the DOI System is now proven and real; millions of DOI^® names are in existence, millions are accessed each month; Registration Agencies have been appointed across the globe. New applications demonstrate more added value and enhanced functionality and have been well-received; the DOI System has been standardised through ISO; CrossRef, our first Registration Agency, has developed into a widely respected application demonstrating proven value in scientific publishing. Other Registration Agencies are developing applications in other areas of text publishing: OPOCE, (Office des publications EU) is leading in assigning DOI names for government documents, and mEDRA has established a multilingual DOI System application centre. In other areas, TIB, via DataCite, has established a scientific data application. EIDR is using DOI names to assign unique identifiers to movie and television assets.

The work done by the International DOI Foundation in understanding the principles and application of naming and meaning (semantic interoperability) on the Internet is widely respected and cited. There is no doubt that the DOI System is a proven and useful tool for content providers who have led the way in developing it, and now its use can be widened into other areas. The DOI System represents a significant step forward in the exchange of information in electronic form. Please join us in developing and shaping the infrastructure for electronic publishing and information dissemination, and ensuring the effective respect of copyright.

Norman Paskin
n.paskin@doi.org or
n.paskin@tertius.ltd.uk
Tel: (+44) 1865 559070