Licensing photos from flickr

I never understood why Flickr doesn't just have their own opt-in program which would allow licensing of one's images a la Corbis or Getty.

Great Photo on Flickr? Getty Images Might Pay You for It
By Miguel Helft

If you are a photographer with high-quality images posted on Yahoo’s Flickr service, you may soon get an e-mail message inviting you to become a paid contributor to Getty Images, the world’s largest distributor of pictures and video.
Yahoo and Getty Images said Tuesday that they had entered into a partnership under which Getty editors would comb Flickr in search of interesting images. They will then invite photographers to participate in the program and ensure that their images have the proper releases to be licensed legally. Those who are included in the program will get paid at the same rates that Getty pays photographers who are under contract with the company.

more details here at NYT