Oct 2 (Reuters) – Archer Aviation said on Friday a California federal court had dismissed some of Joby Aero’s trade-secret and contract claims against it, as well as Archer’s counterclaims.
The US District Court for the Northern District of California issued the ruling on September 29, cutting back on the claims in the ongoing litigation between the two air-taxi makers.
Air taxi makers are racing to commercialize electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft — an emerging market backed by major automakers, airlines and investors that has also spawned a string of trade-secret and patent disputes.
Archer settled separate trade-secret claims brought by Boeing-owned air-taxi developer Wisk in 2023, and filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Vertical Aerospace earlier this year.
Joby sued Archer in 2025, alleging a former employee, George Kivork, who led its state and local policy team, took confidential information on business strategies, partnership terms and aircraft specifications before joining the rival.
A forensic investigation found Kivork had sent dozens of Joby files to a personal email account and altered security permissions on hundreds more to access them after his departure, the lawsuit said.
Joby also alleged Archer misused the trade secrets to undercut one of its agreements with a real-estate developer.
The company sought an unspecified amount of monetary damages and an order preventing Archer from using its trade secrets.
(Reporting by Apratim Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Vijay Kishore)
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