Electric Air Taxi Developer Joby Aviation Sues Archer Aviation Over Alleged Trade Secret Theft
Electric air taxi developer Joby Aviation has filed a lawsuit against Archer Aviation, accusing its rival of using stolen trade secrets obtained from a former employee to disrupt its business operations. The lawsuit, lodged in the Superior Court of California in Santa Cruz County, contains a series of allegations against Archer and George Kivork, a former Joby employee. Joby claims that Kivork, who later joined Archer, unlawfully took trade secrets from Joby that were subsequently utilized by Archer.
According to the lawsuit, Joby asserts that shortly before resigning, Kivork illicitly acquired confidential Joby documents containing sensitive information about partnerships, business strategies, infrastructure plans for vertiports and airport access, as well as technical details about Joby’s aircraft and operations. Joby further alleges that Archer shared confidential details of its partnership agreement with Joby with a strategic partner, information that Kivork had access to through the stolen files.
The complaint states, “This is corporate espionage, planned and premeditated. Kivork and Archer’s actions have forced Joby to take legal action to safeguard its valuable proprietary information.”
Archer has vehemently denied the allegations, with Eric Lentell, Archer’s chief legal and strategy officer, labeling Joby’s claims as baseless and an attempt to divert attention from its own deficiencies. Lentell maintains that the lawsuit lacks merit and fails to provide concrete evidence of trade secret misappropriation. He asserts that Archer has stringent employee onboarding procedures in place to prevent such incidents and accuses Joby of using litigation as a tool to impede fair competition.
Both Archer Aviation and Joby are California-based companies that have gone public in 2021 through mergers with special purpose acquisition companies. They are both involved in the development of electric air taxis and are exploring defense applications for their technology. For example, Archer has partnered with weapons manufacturer Anduril to create a hybrid gas-and-electric-powered vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft for defense purposes, while Joby has teamed up with L3Harris Technologies to develop a gas-turbine hybrid VTOL aircraft capable of autonomous flight.
The legal battle between Joby and Archer marks a significant escalation in their rivalry. Archer has faced legal challenges in the past, notably a lawsuit from Wisk (now a Boeing subsidiary) accusing Archer of stealing over 50 trade secrets through a former employee. After a two-year legal dispute, the parties reached a settlement and agreed to collaborate.
