Recently, the world famous publisher Springer published an English treatise Maintenance Time and the Industry Development of Patent: Empirical Research with Evidence from China, written by Associate Prof. Qiao Yongzong. The main contents of this treatise contain a collection of English papers of Associate Prof. Qiao and some of his graduate students, whose topic is about "patent maintenance time and related industry patent layout". The project belongs to the National Natural Science Foundation of China with the leading of Associate Prof. Qiao Yongzhong, which is one of the most important achievements of Xiamen University, as well as a part of the project of the prosperity and social science of Xiamen University.

Springer is the world's largest technology book publishing company and the second largest science and technology journal publishing company, known for publishing academic publications, and its global leader in web publishing, Springe Link, is the world's most popular electronic publishing platforms about science and technology. Mr. Qiao Yongzhong's work was published free of charge by Springer Press, which reflects its recognition of the research results.