Attributor's technology scans billions of pages on the Web and identifies similar traits in pictures and text.

As content migrates to the Web and is republished by blogs and other services off of the original publisher’s site, news organizations seek to monitor the way their content is used. According to Reuters, “the deal had less to do with chasing piracy.”

"We may find that people are using our content in unidentified ways, so we can identify revenue models to capture that," said Ric Camacho, vice president of digital syndication at Reuters.

"More and more content monetization will happen off of the publisher's site," said Attributor Chief Executive Jim Brock.

In May, the Associated Press had already partnered with Attributor to track its own content.

Source: Reuters through European Journalism Centre