The news that Connecticut-based Stanley Works is buying (er... merging with) Black & Decker, based in Towson, dropped like a big bomb yesterday afternoon. We covered it and so did just about everybody else with half an interest in business news.

One angle that we've pursued is the potential local impact that the move of the corporate headquarters from Baltimore County to Connecticut may mean. Black & Decker has been a prolific innovator in the realm of power tools and hardware, and such innovation typically means smart people and well-paying jobs for a region.

The companies said Monday that Black & Decker's Power Tools division will remain based in Towson. But it remains to be seen whether its Maryland location will continue to innovate at the same level after next year's merger.

I pulled some patent data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and discovered that Black & Decker ranks third in the state in terms of patents granted from 2004 to 2008. See the full state figures below.

Maryland Patent Grants, 2004 to 2008