Anvato, a startup that can identify videos across the web using an automated visual detection engine, has raised $2 million in a partial Series A funding round led by Oxantium Ventures. The round is still open (with an intended value of $4 million), and the company is in ongoing talks with further investors. As part of the deal Oxantium’s Ammar Qusaibaty will join Anvato’s board of directors.

Anvato’s engine uses visual detection to recognize video content, regardless of the associated titles or meta data (which are often incorrect on user-uploaded sites like YouTube). The technology helps publishers identify their copyrighted content across the web, allowing them to either ask that infringing videos be removed or monetize using a centralized control panel that can configure ad campaigns across multiple video sites.

There are a number of other startups developing similar video fingerprinting technology, including Auditude (which recently partnered with MySpace) and YouTube’s internal effort, Video ID.