PITTSBURGH, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Draeger Safety, Inc., located in Pittsburgh PA, and a subsidiary of Draeger, a world leading safety products provider, is countering what it believes are unsubstantiated allegations from Sperian Respiratory Protection USA (formerly Bacou-Dalloz USA) of a patent infringement on the popular Draeger PSS7000 SCBA (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus) used by firefighters.

Draeger has a strong respect for intellectual property rights, but believes that this lawsuit is meritless as it alleges that the PSS7000 SCBA infringes Sperian U.S. Patent No. 6.091,331.

On November 3, 2008, Draeger filed an Answer and Counterclaim to Sperian's complaint stating that the '331 patent is invalid and not infringed. The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on September 11, 2008. These papers are publicly available and can be provided upon request. (Graeme.Roberts@Draeger.com)

The firefighter community has already concluded that the Draeger PSS 7000 SCBA is the best in class SCBA. See Phoenix Fire Test (visit www.Draeger.com/scbaChallenge) Draeger's innovative compliant-design clearly shows its in-depth understanding of firefighter requirements and design quality. Draeger focuses on providing high quality safety products for firefighter safety with its new 2007 NFPA Compliant, SCBA. Draeger is confident in the quality and uniqueness of the PSS7000 SCBA and therefore will continue to make the SCBA available to the firefighting community.

Company profile

Draegerwerk AG & Co. KGaA is an international leader in the fields of medical and safety technology. Draeger products protect, support and save human life. Founded in 1889, in 2007 the Group achieved sales of 1,819.5 million Euro worldwide and an EBIT of 151.9 million Euro. Today, Draeger employs around 10,000 people in more than 70 subsidiaries worldwide and has a representation around 190 countries. The Draeger Safety subsidiary offers products, services and system solutions for all encompassing Risk Management such as Personal- and Facility Protection.

For more information, visit www.draeger.com