Earlier this week, Beijing's Haidian district court ordered Baidu to pay best-selling author Han Han 80,000 yuan ($12,676.42) in compensation for infringing on the writer's copyrights by publishing his works on Wenku, its literature database.

The court, however, rejected Han's request that the database be closed down permanently, meaning that Wenku will presumably live on after Baidu submits to its slap-on-the-wrist punishment.

Yet, Baidu could have avoided its high-profile legal tussle with Han and other prominent Chinese writers who joined him in filing suits against the company, and saved the online literature industry from an unsightly black eye, if it had actually cooperated with authors and publishers on developing a service that was mutually beneficial for both parties. If other similar literature databases don't step up and act more responsibly than Baidu, more disputes will occur.

The author is Wei Yingjie, a commentator with the Beijing News.