As ImageSpan's newest product, LicenseStream, nears a full launch on Oct. 31, company CEO Iain Scholnick says it is not intended as a traditional stock photo portal. Although the online platform will host photographers' images and other content, its purpose is to offer transactional support with the rights-management process.

LicenseStream is a PLUS-certified platform and supports a wide variety of license types. After a photographer assigns a desired license to a particular image, the image is uploaded to LicenseStream's Web site, which handles the sales transaction on the photographer's behalf. Photographers can also fulfill orders outside the LicenseStream system, using it to deliver high-resolution images to customers.

There is an annual fee for LicenseStream usage. ImageSpan also retains a percentage of each transaction and charges digital storage fees. In exchange, the service promises to greatly simplify the rights-management process, eliminating as much as 90% of the time and expenses involved in manual rights management and negotiations. "LicenseStream enables content to be certified for ownership and creators to define extensive licensing terms before distributing their content on the Web," says Scholnick. "Anyone interested in purchasing the content can see licensing information and initiate a Web-based licensing transaction through LicenseStream without lawyers and phone calls."

Though there are no plans to offer a buyer-oriented marketplace on the LicenseStream site, Scholnick stresses that the content offered through the service will be considered ultra-premium. It is PLUS-certified, has provenance and is clean; there are no potential copyright liability issues for the buyer. "That is extremely friendly to our ad-agency and ad-network partners," he adds.

In lieu of a stock-image portal, ImageSpan's ad-agency and ad-network partners will receive content feeds from LicenseStream. At an image owner's request, images can also be published to third-party sites. Scholnick offers the example of Google Base. Currently in beta, Google Base "lets buyers choose a photo from a thumbnail and click through to larger previews at LicenseStream."