ISO 27729:2024
(Main)Information and documentation — International standard name identifier (ISNI)
Information and documentation — International standard name identifier (ISNI)
This document specifies the International Standard name identifier (ISNI) for the identification of public identities of parties, i.e. the identities used publicly by parties involved throughout the media content industries in the creation, production, management and content distribution chains. The ISNI system uniquely identifies public identities across multiple fields of creative activity and provides a tool for disambiguating public identities that might otherwise be confused. The ISNI is not intended to provide direct access to comprehensive information about a public identity but can provide links to other systems where such information is held.
Information et documentation — Code international normalisé des noms (ISNI)
L'ISO 27729:2012 spécifie l'identifiant international normalisé du nom (ISNI) pour l'identification des identités publiques des parties concernées, c'est-à-dire les identités utilisées publiquement par les parties concernées impliquées dans l'ensemble des industries des contenus, dans les chaînes de la création, de la production, de la gestion et de la distribution des contenus. Le système ISNI identifie de manière unique les identités publiques à travers les multiples domaines de l'activité créatrice et offre un outil permettant de lever l'ambiguïté sur les identités publiques qui pourraient, sans elle, être confondues. L'ISNI ne vise pas à offrir un accès direct aux informations détaillées sur une identité publique mais il peut fournir des liens renvoyant à d'autres systèmes contenant ces informations.
Informatika in dokumentacija - Mednarodni standardni identifikator imen (ISNI)
General Information
Relations
Standards Content (Sample)
International
Standard
ISO 27729
Second edition
Information and documentation —
2024-11
International standard name
identifier (ISNI)
Information et documentation — Code international normalisé
des noms (ISNI)
Reference number
© ISO 2024
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ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Structure and syntax of the ISNI . 2
5 Allocation of an ISNI . 2
6 Administration of the ISNI system . 2
7 Association of an ISNI with ISNI metadata . 2
8 Association of an ISNI with other identifiers . 2
Annex A (normative) Method for calculating the check character of an ISNI. 3
Annex B (normative) General principles for the allocation and use of ISNI . 4
Annex C (normative) Administration of the ISNI system . 5
Annex D (normative) Registration metadata for ISNI assignment . 7
Annex E (informative) Relationship between ISNI and other identifiers . 9
Bibliography .12
iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through
ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee
has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations,
governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely
with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types
of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the
ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
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patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent
rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a)
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www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions
related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 46, Information and documentation,
Subcommittee SC 9, Identification and description.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 27729:2012), of which it constitutes a minor
revision. It also incorporates the Technical Corrigendum ISO 27729:2012/Cor 1:2023.
The changes are as follows:
— correction of a typographical error previously present in Table A.1, such that the last line in the Result
column of Step 5 now correctly reads “320 / 11 = 29 remainder 1”;
— minor editorial changes to align this document to the current ISO/IEC Directives Part 2:2021 and to
improve the description of relevant principles and source references.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
iv
Introduction
This document includes a specification for an identifier for the public identities of parties. It aims to provide
an efficient means to disambiguate such public identities in the digital environment so that the roles
participants play in creation, production, management and content distribution chains can be recognized
accurately, and the content they are involved in creating can be managed effectively.
Identifiers created under this document can be used to identify public identities of parties in databases and
they can support the exchange of information in the management of media content.
v
International Standard ISO 27729:2024(en)
Information and documentation — International standard
name identifier (ISNI)
1 Scope
This document specifies the International Standard name identifier (ISNI) for the identification of public
identities of parties, i.e. the identities used publicly by parties involved throughout the media content
industries in the creation, production, management and content distribution chains.
The ISNI system uniquely identifies public identities across multiple fields of creative activity and provides a
tool for disambiguating public identities that might otherwise be confused.
The ISNI is not intended to provide direct access to comprehensive information about a public identity but
can provide links to other systems where such information is held.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references,
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 7064, Information technology — Security techniques — Check character systems
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
party
natural person or legal person, whether or not incorporated, or a group of either
3.2
registrant
party (3.1) that requests an ISNI from the Registration Authority
3.3
public identity
identity of a party (3.1) or a fictional character that is or was presented to the public
3.4
name
character string by which a public identity (3.3) is or was commonly referenced
4 Structure and syntax of the ISNI
4.1 An ISNI shall consist of 16 digits. It shall consist of two components:
a) 15 decimal digits, and
b) a check character.
4.2 An ISNI shall consist of a “dumb” number, of which no meaning shall be embedded in, conveyed by or
imputed to any part or subset of the number.
4.3 When an ISNI is written, printed or otherwise presented in a human-readable format:
a) it shall be preceded by the letters ISNI, separated from the identifier by a space, and
b) the 16 digits shall be displayed as four blocks of four digits, with each block separated from the next by
a space.
EXAMPLE ISNI 1422 4586 3573 0476
The characters “ISNI” and the space characters shall not be considered to form part of the ISNI.
4.4 The check character may be either a decimal digit or the character “X” and shall be calculated using
the preceding 15 decimal digits in accordance with the ISO/IEC 7064, MOD 11-2 algorithm, as described in
Annex A.
5 Allocation of an ISNI
The principles for the allocation and use of an ISNI shall be in accordance with Annex B.
6 Administration of the ISNI system
The ISNI system shall be administered by the Registration Authority of this document, hereafter referred to
as the ISNI Registration Authority.
The ISNI Registration Authority shall be responsible for defining the system architecture supporting the ISNI.
The principal tasks of the ISNI Registration Authority shall be in accordance with those outlined in Annex C.
7 Association of an ISNI with ISNI metadata
An ISNI shall be associated with ISNI metadata (as specified in Annex D) about the public identity it identifies
by means of a register. The ISNI Registration Authority shall be responsible for the maintenance of this
register.
8 Association of an ISNI with other identifiers
The relationship of an ISNI with other identifiers is described in Annex E.
Annex A
(normative)
Method for calculating the check character of an ISNI
A.1 General
The purpose of the check character is to guard against errors caused by the incorrect transcription of an ISNI.
A.2 Calculation of the check character
The check character shall be calculated in accordance with ISO/IEC 7064, MOD 11-2. The check character
shall always be located in the extreme right (low order) position.
Multiply the character values by their weights, then add the products. Strings including the check character
are valid if the sum of these products is congruent to 1 (mod 11).
Table A.1 — Method for calculating the check character of 1422 4586 3573 047
Step Procedure Result
1 Take the weighting factors asso-
ciated with each digit position as
defined in Table A.2. The check 10 5 8 4 2 1 6 3 7 9 10 5 8 4 2
digit has position 1 and is not
included at this stage.
2 Take the first fifteen digits of the
ISNI. The check character will be 1 4 2 2 4 5 8 6 3 5 7 3 0 4 7
the sixteenth and last character.
3 Multiply each digit in turn by its
10 20 16 8 8 5 48 18 21 45 70 15 0 16 14
weighting factor.
4 Add these numbers together. 10 + 20 + 16 + 8 + 8 + 5 + 48 + 18 + 21 + 45 + 70 + 15 + 0 + 16 + 14 = 314
5 Select a number such as its sum
314 + 6 = 320
with the previous result is con-
gruent to 1 (mod 11).
and
If the above number is 10 then
320 / 11 = 29 remainder 1
replace it by an “X”.
6 Append the result of step 5, which
is the check character, to the ex-
1422 4586 3573 0476
treme right (low order) position
of the base number of the ISNI.
NOTE A number is congruent to 1 (mod 11) when the division of this number by 11 yields a remainder of 1.
Table A.2 — Weights of the 16 digits
Position 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Weight 10 5 8 4 2 1 6 3 7 9 10 5 8 4 2 1
(i−1)
The weight, w , is calculated using w = 2 (mod 11) where i is the digit position starting from the right and
i i
mod 11 is the Modulus 11.
Annex B
(normative)
General principles for the allocation and use of ISNI
An ISNI shall be allocated in accordance with the following principles.
a) The ISNI Registration Authority shall be responsible for allocating an ISNI to a public identity of a party
upon request by a registrant.
b) The same ISNI shall be allocated to one and only one public identity of a party.
c) Alternative spellings, alternative presentations, character set variances, script variances and linguistic
variances do not by themselves justify the allocation of different ISNIs.
EXAMPLE 1 William Shakespear and William Shakespeare are alternat
...
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