Your shrimp reaches the buyer's port in 30 days. A squatter can register your brand in that market in less time — and your own containers become the infringement.
India is among the world's largest seafood exporters — shrimp, fish and frozen marine products shipping to the US, EU, Japan, China and Southeast Asia by the container-load. Most exporters obsess over the compliance stack: MPEDA registration, HACCP, buyer audits. Almost none protect the name painted on the carton. The result is a familiar horror story: an importer or local rival registers your brand in the destination country, and suddenly your own shipment infringes someone else's trademark at their customs gate.
The classes are straightforward. Processed, frozen and packaged seafood sits in Class 29. Live fish and crustaceans sit in Class 31. Export trading and distribution services sit in Class 35. An Indian TM-A filing costs ₹4,500 per class for individuals, startups and MSMEs — ₹9,000 otherwise — and that Indian filing becomes your base for international protection through the Madrid Protocol. First-to-file isn't just India's rule; it's the rule in most of your buyer countries too.
Three filings cover most of the IP risk on day one. Each is a standalone service and each links to a deeper walkthrough.
The pattern across all three: the fight happens in the buyer's country, under the buyer country's rules. Registration there, before shipping, is the only cheap move. Start with a clearance search covering your top export markets.
A typical exporter files 29 + 31 + 35 in India — ₹13,500 in official fees at the concessional rate — and mirrors 29 (and 31 where relevant) in export markets. Estimate the full stack with the cost calculator.
Sequence matters. Step one: file in India. Your Indian application or registration is the mandatory base for a Madrid Protocol filing. Step two: designate your buyer countries through Madrid — one application, one language, 100+ member countries including the US, EU, Japan, China, South Korea and the UK. Step three: for important markets with quirks — China's subclass system rewards local advice; some Gulf and African markets aren't Madrid members — file direct national applications.
China deserves special mention: it's a strict first-to-file jurisdiction with an industrial squatting economy. If China is a buyer or even a transshipment point, file there before your brand appears on any invoice or exhibition stall.
One clarification exporters often need: MPEDA registration is not brand protection. Registration with the Marine Products Export Development Authority is an export-compliance requirement — it certifies you as an exporter, it does not reserve your brand name anywhere. The certificate that protects the name on your carton comes from a trademark registry, in each country where you sell.
India: ₹4,500 per class in government fees for MSMEs and startups (₹9,000 otherwise); filing in 48 hours; examination in 2–6 months; 30 days to answer objections; a 4-month opposition window after journal publication; certificate typically inside 8–18 months; renewal every 10 years.
Madrid: WIPO charges official fees in Swiss francs, varying by countries designated — a filing covering three or four major markets commonly lands in the ₹1–2 lakh range in official fees, a fraction of separate national filings through local attorneys in each country. Timelines run 12–18 months per designated country as each examines under its own law.
Weigh that against the alternative: buying your own brand back from a squatter, or rebranding across markets you spent a decade building. Exporters who've been through it call the Madrid fee the cheapest insurance on the water.
Shipping seafood under your own brand — or planning to? Tell us your top three export markets on WhatsApp and we'll map the exact filings you need.
WhatsApp our team →Class 29 — it covers processed, frozen, dried and canned fish and seafood. Live fish and crustaceans fall in Class 31, and export-trading services in Class 35.
No. Trademarks are territorial. You need registrations in each export market — most efficiently through a single Madrid Protocol application based on your Indian filing.
No. Whoever registers, owns. Register in your own company's name and grant the importer a written licence. Otherwise switching distributors later can mean losing your brand in that market.
No. MPEDA registration certifies you as a marine-products exporter for compliance purposes. It gives no rights over your brand name. Brand protection requires a trademark registration in each market.
Yes — at minimum for your company or trading name in India and your key markets. It keeps the own-brand option open and stops a rival or buyer from locking up your identity.