Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also backs the Blue Origin space venture.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also backs the Blue Origin space venture.

Another battle may be brewing between Amazon and one of the world’s largest book publishers.

HarperCollins, which is one of the publishing industry’s “Big Five,” is refusing to sign the exact same contract that three other book publishers just agreed to, reports BusinessInsider, which quotes sources familiar with the situation.

An Amazon spokeswoman confirmed the two companies are in negotiations, saying: “We have offered Harper the same terms for a contract that Simon & Schuster, Hachette and Macmillan have all recently agreed to.”

According to the report, if the two companies don’t come to an agreement before HarperCollins’ current contract runs out, Amazon will stop selling print and digital books from the publisher.

Talks are obviously still ongoing, so at this point anything could happen, but if the contract does expire without new terms in place, it could be reminiscent of the seven-month long fight between Hachette and Amazon.

During contract negotiations between those two companies, Amazon delayed Hachette deliveries and removed pre-order options for several of its titles. The back-and-forth was particularly public, with both consumers and writers speaking out for the two companies.

Under the terms that Hachette ultimately agreed to, it is able to set the price of its consumer titles, but will be offered better terms by Amazon when Hachette offers lower prices for readers. Originally, Amazon was asking for all ebooks to cost $9.99.

Following Hachette’s new contract, Simon & Schuster and Macmillan agreed to similar terms. Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins is a subsidiary of News Corp. One of its most notable titles sold last year by the company was the Divergent series, which continues to be the best-selling teen fantasy novel.

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