US Court Narrows Joby’s Trade-Secret Case Against Archer Aviation
A U.S. federal court has dismissed several claims in Joby Aviation’s trade-secret lawsuit against rival Archer Aviation, narrowing a legal battle between two of the leading companies competing to commercialize electric air taxis.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued the latest ruling on September 29, 2026. Archer said the court dismissed some of Joby’s trade-secret and contract claims, while also dismissing Archer’s own counterclaims.
The decision does not end the dispute. Joby’s core allegations concerning certain trade secrets can continue, while other claims have been dismissed, with some eligible for amendment.
For investors watching the emerging electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, industry, the case highlights an increasingly important issue beyond aircraft development: intellectual property, employee movement and competitive disputes could influence how quickly companies scale in a capital-intensive new aviation market.
What is the Joby-Archer lawsuit about?
Joby filed the lawsuit in November 2025 against Archer and former Joby employee George Kivork.
Joby alleges that Kivork, who had led its state and local policy team, improperly took confidential information before joining Archer. The information Joby identified included business strategies, partnership terms and aircraft specifications.
According to Joby's allegations, a forensic investigation found that Kivork sent dozens of Joby files to a personal email account and changed security permissions on hundreds of other files to retain access after leaving the company.
Joby further alleged that Archer misused confidential information to undercut one of Joby's agreements with a real-estate developer. These remain allegations in an ongoing legal dispute and have not been established as final findings against Archer.
Joby sought monetary damages and an order preventing Archer from using the alleged trade secrets.
What did the court dismiss?
The court's earlier June 5 ruling provides important context for the latest litigation.
Judge Susan van Keulen found that Joby had sufficiently pleaded a trade-secret claim concerning information related to a developer agreement. However, the court found that Joby's allegations were insufficient for three other categories of alleged trade secrets: commercial and regulatory strategy materials, technical information relating to its eVTOL aircraft and operations, and infrastructure strategies.
The court therefore dismissed the trade-secret claim to the extent it relied on those three categories, while allowing Joby to amend.
The June ruling also dismissed several related state-law claims as preempted by California's Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Some other claims were dismissed with leave to amend.
The latest September 29 decision further reduces the claims remaining in the case, according to Archer and Reuters.
That means the legal fight has become narrower, rather than disappearing altogether.
Why the dispute matters to the eVTOL industry
Joby and Archer are competing in an industry that is still trying to move from testing and certification toward commercial passenger operations.
eVTOL aircraft are designed to take off and land vertically and use electric propulsion. Companies developing them are targeting applications ranging from urban air mobility to airport connections and other short-distance transportation.
The sector has attracted major investors, airlines and aerospace partners, but commercialisation requires significant spending on aircraft development, certification, manufacturing infrastructure and operations.
That makes proprietary technology and business relationships particularly valuable.
A dispute over trade secrets can therefore have implications beyond legal costs. It can affect development timelines, employee recruitment, partnerships and investor confidence.
Joby and Archer are fighting on multiple legal fronts
The trade-secret lawsuit is only one part of the broader legal competition between the companies.
Archer has separately filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking to prevent Joby from importing certain electric aircraft, power systems and components that Archer alleges infringe five of its patents.
The ITC opened an investigation in April 2026. Joby's regulatory filings say fact discovery was scheduled to end in late September, with an evidentiary hearing scheduled for January 2027 and an administrative law judge's initial determination expected in May 2027.
That creates a second major intellectual-property dispute between the two companies.
The ITC case is focused on alleged patent infringement, while the California litigation involves trade-secret, contract and related claims.
For investors, following both cases is important because they could affect the competitive landscape for eVTOL aircraft.
Archer has its own history of intellectual-property disputes
The legal pressure is not limited to the Joby-Archer relationship.
Archer previously settled separate trade-secret claims brought by Boeing-owned Wisk in 2023. Archer has also filed a patent lawsuit against Vertical Aerospace in 2026 over its eVTOL aircraft.
The pattern illustrates how valuable intellectual property has become in an emerging aerospace market where companies are developing similar technologies and competing for customers, employees and strategic partnerships.
It also shows why investors should distinguish between a company's engineering progress and its ability to protect its intellectual property.
What the ruling means for Joby Aviation
The court decision is an important development for Joby because it removes some of the legal claims from the case but leaves part of its trade-secret dispute alive.
Joby's latest SEC filing confirms that the company amended its complaint after the June ruling and continued to pursue its claims against Archer and Kivork. The company has also said it intends to defend itself against Archer's counterclaims.
For Joby, the financial significance will depend on how the remaining claims develop.
A successful trade-secret case could potentially produce damages or other remedies, but the current court rulings do not establish that Archer ultimately misappropriated Joby's trade secrets.
Investors should therefore avoid treating the litigation as a confirmed financial gain or loss at this stage.
What the ruling means for Archer Aviation
Archer receives some immediate legal relief because several claims against it have been dismissed.
That could reduce the scope of the trade-secret litigation and potentially lower the legal and operational uncertainty surrounding the dispute.
However, Archer still faces the remaining portions of Joby's lawsuit and is pursuing its separate patent case against Joby through the ITC.
Archer's own SEC filing describes the Joby litigation as an ongoing matter and confirms that the company has filed counterclaims while separately pursuing its patent-related ITC complaint.
The company therefore remains exposed to intellectual-property litigation even after the latest narrowing of Joby's claims.
Why intellectual property matters for eVTOL investors
The eVTOL industry is different from a conventional software market because commercial success depends on regulatory certification, manufacturing capability, aircraft reliability and access to capital.
Intellectual property adds another layer.
Companies need to protect aircraft designs, propulsion technology, software, operating systems and other technical innovations. At the same time, they must recruit engineers and executives from a relatively small pool of aerospace talent.
Employee mobility can therefore become a sensitive issue when workers move between direct competitors.
For investors, legal disputes should be considered alongside aircraft certification schedules, production plans, cash balances, partnerships and customer commitments.
A court ruling can change the legal risk profile without necessarily changing the underlying engineering or commercial prospects of an aircraft.
What investors should watch next
Several developments will be important.
First, watch the remaining Joby-Archer trade-secret claims. The September ruling narrows the case, but the litigation is not over.
Second, monitor the ITC patent dispute. The case could become more consequential as it moves toward the scheduled 2027 hearing and subsequent determinations.
Third, watch eVTOL certification and commercialisation. Legal disputes are secondary to the industry's central challenge: obtaining regulatory approvals and establishing commercially viable operations.
Finally, monitor cash usage and funding requirements. Joby and Archer are developing aircraft and manufacturing capabilities in an industry where commercialization requires substantial capital before meaningful operating revenue can emerge.
The legal battle is narrowing, but competition is not
The latest U.S. court ruling reduces the scope of Joby's trade-secret case against Archer, but it does not resolve the broader competitive dispute between the two eVTOL manufacturers.
Joby still has a portion of its trade-secret claims, while Archer continues to face the remaining litigation and is pursuing a separate patent case against Joby.
For investors, the bigger takeaway is that intellectual property has become a material competitive factor in the race to commercialize electric air taxis. The eventual winners will need more than promising aircraft technology—they will also need regulatory approvals, manufacturing scale, capital and defensible intellectual property.
The next major milestones will come from the remaining court proceedings, the ITC patent case and the companies' progress toward commercial eVTOL operations.
Follow the blog for more aviation, technology, business and global market updates.
This article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.