Madrid’s Pérgamo bookshop did not have a registered trademark when its operators searched Spain’s register. Xeito Libreros applied for the mark on 16 October 2024, and the Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas (OEPM) registered it on 10 June 2025, according to El Confidencial. The registration, numbered M4287567, covered products in Nice Classification class 16, including books.
The company’s representatives later said they had started the formal process of transferring the mark to Ana Serrano, the shop’s owner and an heir to its founder. José Juan Janeiro, the Mexican investor who administered Xeito Libreros, said he had instructed the company’s manager to cancel the registration arrangement. According to EL PAÍS, he was waiting for documents from Serrano’s lawyer before the transfer could take effect.
The filing covered a figurative mark that included more than the word “Pérgamo”: it reproduced visual features associated with the bookshop’s façade, including its slanted lettering and underline. The registered design used purple, while the lettering on the physical sign was gold. Serrano had demanded that the name return to her family. She and her sister Lourdes regarded Pérgamo as their family’s legacy. Their parents opened the bookshop in 1946. Cerezo said the company registered the mark to protect the identity of the cultural project it was running. He later described the shop as part of Madrid and Spain’s cultural heritage.
The trademark dispute continued as the tenancy broke down. The original three-year lease expired on 25 April 2025 without automatic renewal. The owner’s lawyer said the parties were then operating under a monthly tacit renewal, and that the agreement had been made with Janeiro rather than directly with Xeito Libreros.
Rent was €2,600 a month. Cerezo acknowledged delays in payment but said every instalment had been paid and there had been no defaults. He also said the company had paid the rent from book sales since 2024, when he and María Triviño joined as partners. El Confidencial reported that Janeiro transferred a 30% stake each to Cerezo and Triviño after writer Jorge F. Hernández left the company in 2024. Xeito’s book-storage and cataloguing work for Fundación Vargas Llosa ended in 2023, Cerezo said.
The Serrano sisters decided to retire and wind down the shop in January 2022, after more than seven decades in business. Pérgamo’s founders had opened it in 1946. The bookshop was close to closing when Janeiro visited as the sisters prepared to shut it; he decided to finance its continuation. Xeito Libreros was incorporated in June 2022. Writer Jorge F. Hernández contributed literary contacts, while Pablo Cerezo managed day-to-day operations. The sisters retained ownership of the premises and became landlords. Xeito ran the bookshop and built a social-media following of more than 60,000.
Financial pressure and disagreements over the rent later strained relations. Cerezo sought to buy the premises or secure a rent reduction; the owner rejected both proposals. After a delayed payment in August, the dispute worsened. Janeiro said the costs had made the project unviable, while Cerezo described a business short of cash despite book sales and well-attended events.
EL PAÍS reported that the transfer was still awaiting legal documents when Janeiro discussed it with the newspaper. He also said he planned to liquidate Xeito Libreros.
