ECL Ecolab Inc

New Ocean Tomo 300(TM) Patent Index Tracking the 'Knowledge Economy' Outperforms S&P 500 through its Third Week CHICAGO, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Ocean Tomo, LLC, the Chicago-based provider of diversified intellectual property-related services, announced the Ocean Tomo 300(TM) Patent Index, the first equity index based on the value of corporate intellectual property, concluded trading on November 17 at 5880.48, a new record high. It continues to outpace the S&P 500 since the Index's reconstitution on October 31, 2006. "The Ocean Tomo 300(TM) Patent Index continues to receive considerable attention. Morgan Stanley Institutional Equity mentioned the Claymore/Ocean Tomo Patent ETF in the section of Announced Plans for New ETFs in its Exchange Traded Funds - Q3 2006 Global Review. The intended symbol of the Claymore/Ocean Tomo Patent ETF is OTR," said Keith Cardoza, Managing Director of Ocean Tomo and Chief Investment Officer of Ocean Tomo Asset Management. Standard and Poor's included Ocean Tomo 300(TM) member Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) in the S&P 500 on November 3, 2006. Several member companies including InterDigital Communications Corp. (NASDAQ:IDCC) and Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENER) have reported their inclusion in the Index in quarterly earnings filings. Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN) and United Technologies (NYSE:UTX) have also incorporated their inclusion in recent press releases or company highlights. "The Ocean Tomo 300(TM) Patent Index is the most relevant index to measure the knowledge economy. It allows investors for the first time to commit a meaningful and sustainable portion of their capital to intellectual property as a distinct asset class ... the most valuable asset of the knowledge economy," Cardoza added. The Ocean Tomo 300(TM) Patent Index is a diversified market-weighted index of 300 companies that own the most valuable patents relative to their book value. The American Stock Exchange recognizes the Index as "the first major, broad-based market equity index to be launched in 35 years, and follows the progression from the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896, to the Standard & Poor's 500 in 1957 and then to the NASDAQ Composite Index in 1971." Over a 10- year time period ending October 2006, the Ocean Tomo 300(TM) Patent Index outperformed the S&P 500 by more than 300 basis points annualized. Among the companies that trade on the Ocean Tomo 300(TM) Patent Index as of November 1, 2006 are: Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI), Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN), Pactiv (NYSE:PTV), Invitrogen (NASDAQ:IVGN), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Gannett (NYSE:GCI), Baxter (NYSE:BAX), Brunswick (NYSE:BC), Alberto-Culver (NYSE: ACV), Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) and Adtran (NASDAQ:ADTN). The full list of companies in the Index and other materials are available at http://www.oceantomoindexes.com/ and http://www.amex.com/. Also recently available at http://www.oceantomoindexes.com/ are company dashboards for all 300 constituents listing average IPQ(R) score, top patents, intangible value as percentage of market capitalization and complete member company news. Ocean Tomo 300(TM) Patent Index Rate of Return versus S&P 500: November 1 - 17, 2006* Ocean Tomo 300(TM) Patent Index: 1.8% S&P 500: 1.6% * Returns are calculated from close of market on October 31, 2006 to close of market November 17, 2006, using prices from Bloomberg. Ocean Tomo 300(TM) Patent Index Methodology The Ocean Tomo 300(TM) Patent Index represents a diversified portfolio of 300 companies that own the most valuable patents relative to their book value. The Index selection methodology identifies six companies within each of 50 size and style groups, reflecting a broad spectrum of market capitalizations and investment styles, including value, relative value, blend, growth at a reasonable price (GARP) and growth by decile, that have the highest ratio of patent value to book value. The analytical engine used to evaluate the value of each company's patent portfolio is Ocean Tomo's PatentRatings(TM) software, which calculates the relative attractiveness of the more than four million patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since 1983, and which is widely recognized by the intellectual property valuation industry. The methodology developed by Ocean Tomo is a 100 percent rules-based, quantitative approach to selecting stocks from a universe of 1,000 companies. The Index constituent selection process utilizes multi-factor proprietary selection rules to identify those stocks that offer the greatest patent value opportunities while maintaining broad-based diversification. The Index annually reconstitutes after the close of business on the last business day of October. Daily tracking of the Ocean Tomo 300(TM) Patent Index is available at numerous media outlets including: Bloomberg.com (^OTPAT), Bloomberg terminal (OTPAT ), MarketWatch.com (OTPAT), and Yahoo! Finance (^OTPAT). The Ocean Tomo 300(TM) Patent Index is patent-pending and was created by and is a trademark of Ocean Tomo Capital, LLC. Ocean Tomo's PatentRatings(TM) software is protected by U.S. Patent Number 6,556,992. About Ocean Tomo, LLC: Established in 2003, Ocean Tomo, LLC (http://www.oceantomo.com/) is a fully integrated intellectual capital merchant banc that specializes in understanding and leveraging intellectual property assets. The company provides advice in IP-related mergers and acquisitions, valuations, expert services, analytics and IP auctions. Ocean Tomo has offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Palm Beach, Orange County and Washington, DC. Subsidiaries of Ocean Tomo include: Ocean Tomo Capital, LLC, publisher of the Ocean Tomo 300(TM) Patent Index (AMEX:OTPAT); Ocean Tomo Capital Fund, LP -- a $200 million private equity investment fund; and Ocean Tomo Asset Management, LLC -- an SEC Registered Investment Advisor offering hedge funds utilizing IP-based investment strategies. DATASOURCE: Ocean Tomo, LLC CONTACT: Melissa Kanter, +1-212-704-8261, , or Judith Flynn Echeverria, +1-212-819-4806, , both of Edelman Web site: http://www.oceantomo.com/

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