Aug 11, 2014 06:20 PM EDT
Amazon Halts Some Disney Movie Pre-Orders Over Contract Dispute

Amazon.com has stopped pre-orders of some Disney movies, in what seems to be another contract dispute after the online retailer started a protracted argument with publisher Hachette Book Group this year.

The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Pre-orders for movies like "Maleficent" and "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" were unavailable for order on Amazon.com on August 10.

Digital copies of some of the movies in question were still available for pre-order however.

Amazon.com hasn't commented publicly yet regarding the news. A Disney spokesman had no comment when reached by Reuters.

Amazon is in the middle of a dispute with Hachette, the fourth-largest U.S. book publisher, over the price the online retailer can charge for e-books.

Hachette is owned by France's Lagardere.

Amazon was criticized in a two-page ad in the New York Times this weekend by a group called Authors United for halting pre-orders from some Hachette authors and slowing delivery of books by Hachette authors.

The ad was signed by more than 900 writers, including Stephen King and Donna Tartt.

Amazon.com's Books Team ran a message on a website readersunited.com on Aug. 8 reiterating its arguments for cheaper ebooks, and suggested people email Hachette CEO Michael Pietsch. The company published Pietsch's email address and mentioned key points people should mention in their emails.  

Pietsch responded to everyone who emailed him, saying that the dispute started because Amazon is looking for a lot more profit and even more market share at the expense of authors, bookstores and Hachette.

"Both Hachette and Amazon are big businesses and neither should claim a monopoly on enlightenment, but we do believe in a book industry where talent is respected and choice continues to be offered to the reading public," Pietsch wrote on Sunday, a copy of which was sent to Reuters.

"Once again, we call on Amazon to withdraw the sanctions against Hachette's authors that they have unilaterally imposed, and restore their books to normal levels of availability."

Amazon says pricing e-books at $14.99 or $19.99 is too expensive. It claims that cheaper e-books sell more copies, which will ultimately generate more revenue and more royalties for authors.

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