London-based Image Source is making its entire collection available to users of PicScout ImageExchange. There are currently over 20 companies participating in the beta PicScout offering.
Image Source is among the global royalty-free production leaders. The company was established in 1999 by Christina Vaughan, who remains at its helm today. Vaughan is also the current president of CEPIC, the European umbrella group that unites regional image agencies. Among the most recent corporate developments was the launch of the ImageSource cross-media product that bundles royalty-free stills with footage.
The Israel-born, San Francisco-based PicScout says it has created “a new model and technical standard for image credit.” The company hopes it has paved the way for image commerce to become a legitimate Internet economy. PicScout’s Image IRC service platform uses proprietary image recognition technology for its index, metadata registry and API connection. It provides services including image protection, ownership identification, commerce and business intelligence.