diff --git a/javadoc/plugin.jelly b/javadoc/plugin.jelly
index db48f391..81f9c24c 100644
--- a/javadoc/plugin.jelly
+++ b/javadoc/plugin.jelly
@@ -114,7 +114,15 @@
         <j:forEach var="packageGroup" items="${pom.packageGroups}">
       	  <group title="${packageGroup.title}" packages="${packageGroup.packages}"/>
         </j:forEach>
-      
+  
+        <!-- allow custom doclets -->    
+        <j:if test="${context.getVariable('maven.javadoc.doclet') != null}">
+          <setProperty name="doclet" value="${maven.javadoc.doclet}" />
+        </j:if>
+        <j:if test="${context.getVariable('maven.javadoc.docletpath') != null}">
+          <setProperty name="doclet" value="${maven.javadoc.docletpath}" />
+        </j:if>
+
       </javadoc>
       <record name="${maven.build.dir}/javadoc/report.txt" action="stop" />
 
diff --git a/javadoc/plugin.properties b/javadoc/plugin.properties
index 62c8f56b..749a75d8 100644
--- a/javadoc/plugin.properties
+++ b/javadoc/plugin.properties
@@ -6,6 +6,11 @@
 
 maven.javadoc.author = true
 maven.javadoc.destdir = ${maven.build.dir}/docs/apidocs
+
+# optional properties for specifying a custom doclet
+#maven.javadoc.docletpath=
+#maven.javadoc.doclet=
+
 maven.javadoc.links = 
 #maven.javadoc.maxmemory
 maven.javadoc.public = false
diff --git a/javadoc/xdocs/properties.xml b/javadoc/xdocs/properties.xml
index fd72d026..3efea69e 100644
--- a/javadoc/xdocs/properties.xml
+++ b/javadoc/xdocs/properties.xml
@@ -28,6 +28,25 @@
             <code>${maven.docs.dest}/apidocs</code>.
           </td>
         </tr>
+        <tr>
+          <td>maven.javadoc.doclet</td>
+          <td>Yes</td>
+          <td>
+            Specifies the doclet to use when calling javadoc. See
+            <a href="http://ant.apache.org/manual/CoreTasks/javadoc.html">the 
+            ant javadoc task</a> documentation for more detail.
+          </td>
+        </tr>
+        <tr>
+          <td>maven.javadoc.docletpath</td>
+          <td>Yes</td>
+          <td>
+            Specifies the path to the doclet class when calling javadoc with a
+            custom doclet. See
+            <a href="http://ant.apache.org/manual/CoreTasks/javadoc.html">the 
+            ant javadoc task</a> documentation for more detail.
+          </td>
+        </tr>
         <tr>
           <td>maven.javadoc.doctitle</td>
           <td>Yes</td>
@@ -62,7 +81,7 @@
           <td>Yes</td>
           <td>
             Specifies the version of the jdk in use. See
-            <a href="http://jakarta.apache.org/ant/manual/CoreTasks/javadoc.html">the 
+            <a href="http://ant.apache.org/manual/CoreTasks/javadoc.html">the 
             ant javadoc task</a> documentation for more detail.
           </td>
         </tr>