Skip to content

Cambridge University wins rowing trademark case

Ben Schofieldin Cambridge
News imageBen Schofield/BBC Omar Terywall, to the left of centre frame and looking directly out of the image. He is smiling slightly, has a dark, neatly trimmed beard, flecked with grey on his chin, and has on circular, black-framed glasses. He is bald. He is wearing a dark blue, collared top, with a white 'Cambridge Rowing' insignia on the right. Behind Omar are several sporting rowing boats mounted on racks inside a boathouse.Ben Schofield/BBC
Omar Terywall set up Cambridge Rowing Limited to introduce novices to the sport

The University of Cambridge has won its fight to stop a rowing company based in the city trademarking its name.

It argued Cambridge Rowing Limited would be able to "take unfair advantage of and cause detriment to" the university's reputation if its logo was registered.

The university owns trademarks for the word "Cambridge", meaning it has the right to stop others from using it in certain circumstances.

Omar Terywall, the company's founder, said he was "gutted" at the outcome and the case had been a "terrifying ordeal".

He said he hoped to appeal the decision by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

News imageBen Schofield/BBC Omar sitting in a single scull rowing boat on the side of a river. He is smiling slightly, while holding an oar in each hand. It is a fine, bright day. He is wearing a dark blue, collared T-shirt, with all three buttons done up, though his arms are covered by a white top worn underneath the T-shirt. He is wearing dark blue jogging bottoms and the tops of his knees are just in shot. His boat is against a pontoon edge, which is to the right of frame. Behind Omar is the far river bank, with a narrow boat moored up, a grassy bank, trees and a building. The river looks calm and it is a bright day.Ben Schofield/BBC
Terywall said he hopes to lodge an appeal against the trademark decision

Terywall, 46, set up Cambridge Rowing in 2021 and operates on the River Cam as the Cambridge Rowing Experience.

He said the company had introduced more than 5,000 novices to the sport.

In January 2022 he applied to trademark the firm's logo but The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge objected.

The university registered "Cambridge" as a trademark several years ago and has tried to stop several companies including the city in their names.

News imageBen Schofield/BBC The corner of a white banner, which is hung on the outside of a rowing club's boathouse. This part of the banner shows a logo with the words "Cambridge Rowing Experience" written underneath a simple drawing of a single rower in a boat, pulling a stroke on their oars. The rower image is set inside a shield, behind which are two crossed oars. Below the logo is a repeat of the words "Cambridge Rowing Experience". Ben Schofield/BBC
The University of Cambridge has registered a trademark for the word "Cambridge"

During a hearing on 2 July 2025, university barrister Guy Tritton said Cambridge Rowing's logo – featuring crossing rowing blades, a shield and the firm's name – was "a nudge and wink to the university".

In a written decision, IPO hearing officer Rosie Le Breton said she found there would be a "likelihood of confusion" between Cambridge Rowing and services offered by the university.

Le Breton said that confusion meant there was "no doubt" that Cambridge Rowing would "benefit unfairly" from the university's "significant investment" in its "reputation and image of prestige created by its widely publicised achievements".

Cambridge Rowing would be "securing a commercial advantage as a direct benefit of the opponent's reputation", Le Breton continued.

News imageJohn Walton/PA Wire An eight-person racing rowing boat on the River Thames in London. The rowers are wearing the pale "Cambridge Blue" sports kit and are facing towards the camera. A coxswain with "Cambridge" written across their back is seated closest to the camera, but is facing away from us. The oars are all in the water as the rowers are pulling through a stroke. Behind the boat in the far distance is an imposing road bridge. There are trees and bushes on the left of the image, where the river bank meets the water.John Walton/PA Wire
The first Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race was held on the River Thames in 1829

Le Breton rejected Cambridge Rowing's trademark application and ordered it to pay the university £2,400 in costs.

Terywall said: "To say I'm disappointed is an understatement."

Cambridge residents would, he added, be "outraged" to find "that one entity owns the word 'Cambridge', because it doesn't help the rest of the city prosper in any kind of way at all".

News imageBen Schofield/BBC A building, centre frame and shot from below. It is a boathouse on the River Cam, though the water is not in frame. It has a blue, roller shutter type door, over which a banner reading "learn to row' is hung. An external staircase can be just be seen on the left. On the first floor is a balcony with chairs. Two white flag poles stretch up from the balcony railings. The building has a pitched roof, which is set against a mostly blue sky, though there are some clouds. There are similarly sized buildings on either side.Ben Schofield/BBC
The Cambridge Rowing Experience is run from the City of Cambridge Rowing Club

A spokesperson for the university said that before it began legal action it "sought a compromise that would work for both parties, approaching discussions cooperatively and with no wish to stop the applicant trading".

But once those talks broke down, the spokesperson added, "the university had to oppose the application as it is often subject to third parties adopting names which deliberately or otherwise seek to gain advantage from the university's reputation".

The deadline for Cambridge Rowing to appeal is 3 March.

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

More on this story
Related internet links