diff --git a/api/fedora_item.inc b/api/fedora_item.inc
index 0c00e175..40edee64 100644
--- a/api/fedora_item.inc
+++ b/api/fedora_item.inc
@@ -1118,7 +1118,9 @@ RDF;
         $created_temp = TRUE;
       }
       
-      $file_url = file_create_url($file);
+      $parts = explode('/', $file);
+      $parts = array_map('rawurlencode', $parts);
+      $file_url = file_create_url(implode('/', $parts));
       
       $toReturn = $this->modify_datastream_by_reference($file_url, $dsid, $label, $mime_type, $force, $logMessage);