Intense Legal Clash in Electric Air Taxi Sector: Joby vs. Archer

Staff Report, PNN

Electric air taxi manufacturer Joby Aviation has filed a lawsuit against its competitor Archer Aviation. The complaint alleges that Archer, through a new employee, stole Joby’s confidential business and technical information and used it to interfere with Joby’s operations.

Filed on Thursday in the Superior Court of Santa Cruz County, California, Joby claims that Archer employee George Kivork, who previously worked at Joby, stole important company files two days before resigning. These files included confidential partnership agreements, business and regulatory strategies, vertiport and airport access plans, and technical information about Joby’s aircraft and operations.

The lawsuit further alleges that Archer used the stolen information to contact a strategic partner of Joby and shared details of confidential agreements. Joby stated, “This is a planned and deliberate act of corporate espionage. Kivork and Archer’s actions have forced Joby to protect its valuable confidential information through legal action.”

Archer responded quickly. Their Chief Legal and Strategy Officer Eric Lentel said, “Joby filed this lawsuit to slow down competition and cover up its own mistakes. The case is entirely baseless, and there is no evidence of theft of specific confidential information. We will continue our business through fair competition.”

Both Joby and Archer are based in California and went public in 2021 through a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Both are developing electric air taxis and exploring applications in defense technology. For example, Archer recently signed an exclusive agreement with Anduril for hybrid gas-and-electric VTOL aircraft development, while Joby partnered with L3Harris Technologies to explore autonomous VTOL aircraft opportunities.

This lawsuit opens the path for extended legal clashes between the two competitors. Notably, Archer was previously sued by Wisk (a Boeing subsidiary) in 2021 for stealing confidential information, a case resolved in two years with both companies later agreeing to cooperate.