Cambridge University wins rowing trademark case

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).

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.

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.

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".

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.

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