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The DOI syntax shall be made up of a DOI prefix and a DOI suffix separated by a forward slash.

There is no defined limit on the length of the DOI name, or of the DOI prefix or DOI suffix.

The DOI name is case-insensitive and can incorporate any printable characters from the legal graphic characters of Unicode. Further constraints on character use (for example, use of language-specific alphanumeric characters) can be defined for an application by the ISO 26324 Registration Authority.

NOTE  The exact definition of case-insensitivity is expected to be clarified in an upcoming revision of the International Standard.

The DOI name is an opaque string for the purposes of the DOI system. No definitive information may be inferred from the specific character string of a DOI name. In particular, the inclusion in a DOI name of any registrant code allocated to a specific registrant does not provide evidence of the ownership of rights or current management responsibility of any intellectual property in the referent. Such information may be asserted in the associated metadata.