The Telegraph website has laid itself open to accusations that it is running a “rights grab” as part of its Digital Photography clinic.

The website invites readers to “email us your photographs on a particular theme” but entrants will be told how the Telegraph will be using their pictures only after they have submitted them. However, when EPUK asked to see the terms, Telegraph Arts and Review picture editor Lucy Davies wouldn’t tell us what the terms were, saying only that our request “had been passed to legal and syndication” and to “expect to hear from them shortly”. A week later and we’re still waiting, despite a bit of gentle nudging.

There are a number of possible explanations. Maybe there has been a mix up. Maybe Legal and Syndication are just plain shy. Or – and this is the explanation we’re leaning towards at the moment – the Telegraph are trying to get free content for their website, are running a rights-grab, and they’re just not too keen to tell us about it.

Does the thought of a national quality paper soliciting readers’ photographs on a theme, then wanting to own rights in all submitted entries sound too unlikely ? Then you might want to read this…