Digital object identifier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

However, unlike URLs, the DOI system is not open to all comers; only organizations that can meet the contractual obligations of the DOI system and that are willing to pay to become a member of the system can assign DOIs.[4] The DOI system is implemented through a federation of registration agencies coordinated by the International DOI Foundation,[5] which developed and controls the system. The DOI system has been developed and implemented in a range of publishing applications since 2000; by late 2009 approximately 43 million DOI names had been assigned by some 4,000 organizations.