diff --git a/src/main/java/org/spdx/maven/CreateSpdxMojo.java b/src/main/java/org/spdx/maven/CreateSpdxMojo.java
index d645f61..7f97f39 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/spdx/maven/CreateSpdxMojo.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/spdx/maven/CreateSpdxMojo.java
@@ -486,7 +486,7 @@ public class CreateSpdxMojo extends AbstractMojo
      * and locator "pkg:maven/${project.groupId}/${project.artifactId}@${project.version}".
      */
     @Parameter( property = "spdx.generatePurls" )
-    private boolean generatePurls;
+    private boolean generatePurls = true;
 
     public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException
     {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/spdx/maven/utils/SpdxExternalRefBuilder.java b/src/main/java/org/spdx/maven/utils/SpdxExternalRefBuilder.java
index 59726a8..d93dd57 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/spdx/maven/utils/SpdxExternalRefBuilder.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/spdx/maven/utils/SpdxExternalRefBuilder.java
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 package org.spdx.maven.utils;
 
+import java.net.URLEncoder;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.List;
 import org.apache.maven.artifact.Artifact;
@@ -26,9 +28,8 @@ private static ExternalRef generatePurlExternalRef( SpdxDocument spdxDoc, MavenP
   {
     try
     {
-      String purl = "pkg:maven/" + project.getGroupId() + "/" + project.getArtifactId() + "@" + project.getVersion();
       return spdxDoc.createExternalRef( ReferenceCategory.PACKAGE_MANAGER, new ReferenceType("http://spdx.org/rdf/references/purl"),
-                                        purl, null );
+                                        generatePurl( project ), null );
     }
     catch ( InvalidSPDXAnalysisException e )
     {
@@ -37,4 +38,11 @@ private static ExternalRef generatePurlExternalRef( SpdxDocument spdxDoc, MavenP
     }
   }
 
+  private static String generatePurl( MavenProject project )
+  {
+    return "pkg:maven/" + project.getGroupId() + "/"
+        + URLEncoder.encode( project.getArtifactId(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8 )
+        + "@" + project.getVersion();
+  }
+
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/spdx/maven/TestSpdxMojo.java b/src/test/java/org/spdx/maven/TestSpdxMojo.java
index c9d0a24..d97db6d 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/spdx/maven/TestSpdxMojo.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/spdx/maven/TestSpdxMojo.java
@@ -14,13 +14,11 @@
 import org.junit.After;
 import org.junit.AfterClass;
 import org.junit.Before;
-import org.junit.Ignore;
 import org.junit.Test;
 import org.spdx.jacksonstore.MultiFormatStore;
 import org.spdx.jacksonstore.MultiFormatStore.Format;
 import org.spdx.library.ModelCopyManager;
 import org.spdx.library.model.ExternalRef;
-import org.spdx.library.model.ReferenceType;
 import org.spdx.library.model.SpdxDocument;
 import org.spdx.library.model.SpdxElement;
 import org.spdx.library.model.SpdxFile;
@@ -79,7 +77,7 @@ public void testExecute() throws Exception
         assertTrue( spdxFile.exists() );
         // Test output artifact file is created
         File artifactFile = getTestFile(
-                "target/test-classes/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/spdx-maven-plugin-test.spdx.rdf.xml" );
+                "target/test-classes/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/spdx maven plugin test.spdx.rdf.xml" );
         assertTrue( artifactFile.exists() );
         ISerializableModelStore modelStore = new RdfStore();
         ModelCopyManager copyManager = new ModelCopyManager();
@@ -323,7 +321,7 @@ public void testExecuteUseArtfactId() throws Exception
         assertTrue( spdxFile.exists() );
         // Test output artifact file is created
         File artifactFile = getTestFile(
-                "target/test-classes/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/spdx-maven-plugin-test.spdx.json" );
+                "target/test-classes/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/spdx maven plugin test.spdx.json" );
         assertTrue( artifactFile.exists() );
         ISerializableModelStore modelStore = new MultiFormatStore( new InMemSpdxStore(), Format.JSON );
         ModelCopyManager copyManager = new ModelCopyManager();
@@ -433,7 +431,7 @@ else if ( creator.equals( "Person: Creator2" ) )
         assertTrue( described instanceof SpdxPackage );
         SpdxPackage pkg = (SpdxPackage) described;
         // name
-        assertEquals( "org.spdx:spdx-maven-plugin-test", pkg.getName().get() );
+        assertEquals( "org.spdx:spdx maven plugin test", pkg.getName().get() );
         // packageAnnotations
         assertEquals( 1, pkg.getAnnotations().size() );
         org.spdx.library.model.Annotation annotation = pkg.getAnnotations().toArray( new org.spdx.library.model.Annotation [pkg.getAnnotations().size()] )[0];
@@ -569,7 +567,7 @@ public void testExecuteJson() throws Exception
         assertTrue( spdxFile.exists() );
         // Test output artifact file is created
         File artifactFile = getTestFile(
-                "target/test-classes/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/spdx-maven-plugin-test.spdx.json" );
+                "target/test-classes/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/spdx maven plugin test.spdx.json" );
         assertTrue( artifactFile.exists() );
         ISerializableModelStore modelStore = new MultiFormatStore( new InMemSpdxStore(), Format.JSON );
         ModelCopyManager copyManager = new ModelCopyManager();
@@ -852,7 +850,7 @@ public void testExecuteUriNotUrl()  throws Exception
         assertTrue( spdxFile.exists() );
         // Test output artifact file is created
         File artifactFile = getTestFile(
-                "target/test-classes/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/spdx-maven-plugin-test.spdx.rdf.xml" );
+                "target/test-classes/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/spdx maven plugin test.spdx.rdf.xml" );
         assertTrue( artifactFile.exists() );
         ISerializableModelStore modelStore = new RdfStore();
         ModelCopyManager copyManager = new ModelCopyManager();
@@ -885,7 +883,7 @@ public void testExecuteNoContributors() throws Exception
         assertTrue( spdxFile.exists() );
         // Test output artifact file is created
         File artifactFile = getTestFile(
-                "target/test-classes/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/spdx-maven-plugin-test.spdx.rdf.xml" );
+                "target/test-classes/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/spdx maven plugin test.spdx.rdf.xml" );
         assertTrue( artifactFile.exists() );
         ISerializableModelStore modelStore = new RdfStore();
         ModelCopyManager copyManager = new ModelCopyManager();
@@ -1127,7 +1125,7 @@ public void testExecuteUseGeneratePurls() throws Exception
         assertTrue( spdxFile.exists() );
         // Test output artifact file is created
         File artifactFile = getTestFile(
-            "target/test-classes/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/spdx-maven-plugin-test.spdx.json" );
+            "target/test-classes/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/spdx maven plugin test.spdx.json" );
         assertTrue( artifactFile.exists() );
         ISerializableModelStore modelStore = new MultiFormatStore( new InMemSpdxStore(), Format.JSON );
         ModelCopyManager copyManager = new ModelCopyManager();
@@ -1156,7 +1154,8 @@ public void testExecuteUseGeneratePurls() throws Exception
             assertEquals( externalRef.getReferenceCategory(), ReferenceCategory.PACKAGE_MANAGER );
             assertEquals( externalRef.getReferenceType().getIndividualURI(), "http://spdx.org/rdf/references/purl");
             assertEquals( externalRef.getReferenceLocator(),
-                          "pkg:maven/" + pkg.getName().get().replace(":", "/") + "@" + pkg.getVersionInfo().get() );
+                          "pkg:maven/" + pkg.getName().get().replace( ":", "/" ).replaceAll( " ", "+" )
+                              + "@" + pkg.getVersionInfo().get() );
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/json-pom-generate-purl.xml b/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/json-pom-generate-purl.xml
index 053a7c9..0166101 100644
--- a/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/json-pom-generate-purl.xml
+++ b/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/json-pom-generate-purl.xml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
   <groupId>org.spdx</groupId>
-  <artifactId>spdx-maven-plugin-test</artifactId>
+  <artifactId>spdx maven plugin test</artifactId>
   <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
   <packaging>jar</packaging>
   <name>Test SPDX Plugin</name>
diff --git a/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/json-pom-use-artifact.xml b/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/json-pom-use-artifact.xml
index f54c3a5..5f62a3e 100644
--- a/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/json-pom-use-artifact.xml
+++ b/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/json-pom-use-artifact.xml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
   <groupId>org.spdx</groupId>
-  <artifactId>spdx-maven-plugin-test</artifactId>
+  <artifactId>spdx maven plugin test</artifactId>
   <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
   <packaging>jar</packaging>
   <name>Test SPDX Plugin</name>
@@ -231,6 +231,7 @@
                             </snippets>
                         </PathSpecificSpdxInfo>
                     </pathsWithSpecificSpdxInfo>
+                    <generatePurls>false</generatePurls>
                 </configuration>
                 </plugin>
         </plugins>
diff --git a/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/json-pom.xml b/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/json-pom.xml
index a8dd724..90f5bb4 100644
--- a/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/json-pom.xml
+++ b/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/json-pom.xml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
   <groupId>org.spdx</groupId>
-  <artifactId>spdx-maven-plugin-test</artifactId>
+  <artifactId>spdx maven plugin test</artifactId>
   <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
   <packaging>jar</packaging>
   <name>Test SPDX Plugin</name>
@@ -230,6 +230,7 @@
                             </snippets>
                         </PathSpecificSpdxInfo>
                     </pathsWithSpecificSpdxInfo>
+                    <generatePurls>false</generatePurls>
                 </configuration>
                 </plugin>
         </plugins>
diff --git a/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/pom-with-no-contributors.xml b/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/pom-with-no-contributors.xml
index b6ce64f..95e45b0 100644
--- a/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/pom-with-no-contributors.xml
+++ b/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/pom-with-no-contributors.xml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
   <groupId>org.spdx</groupId>
-  <artifactId>spdx-maven-plugin-test</artifactId>
+  <artifactId>spdx maven plugin test</artifactId>
   <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
   <packaging>jar</packaging>
   <name>Test SPDX Plugin</name>
@@ -231,6 +231,7 @@
                             </snippets>
                         </PathSpecificSpdxInfo>
                     </pathsWithSpecificSpdxInfo>
+                    <generatePurls>false</generatePurls>
                 </configuration>
                 </plugin>
         </plugins>
diff --git a/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/pom.xml b/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/pom.xml
index 1efd539..8b0d85e 100644
--- a/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/pom.xml
+++ b/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/pom.xml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
   <groupId>org.spdx</groupId>
-  <artifactId>spdx-maven-plugin-test</artifactId>
+  <artifactId>spdx maven plugin test</artifactId>
   <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
   <packaging>jar</packaging>
   <name>Test SPDX Plugin</name>
@@ -235,6 +235,7 @@
                             </snippets>
                         </PathSpecificSpdxInfo>
                     </pathsWithSpecificSpdxInfo>
+                    <generatePurls>false</generatePurls>
                 </configuration>
                 </plugin>
         </plugins>
diff --git a/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/uri-pom.xml b/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/uri-pom.xml
index de9db6f..62776cb 100644
--- a/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/uri-pom.xml
+++ b/src/test/resources/unit/spdx-maven-plugin-test/uri-pom.xml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
   <groupId>org.spdx</groupId>
-  <artifactId>spdx-maven-plugin-test</artifactId>
+  <artifactId>spdx maven plugin test</artifactId>
   <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
   <packaging>jar</packaging>
   <name>Test SPDX Plugin</name>
@@ -235,6 +235,7 @@
                             </snippets>
                         </PathSpecificSpdxInfo>
                     </pathsWithSpecificSpdxInfo>
+                    <generatePurls>false</generatePurls>
                 </configuration>
                 </plugin>
         </plugins>