Archer Aviation and Wisk Aero have settled their federal and state court litigation, which was pending a jury trial. Instead of continuing their legal battle, Archer and Boeing-owned Wisk have announced a partnership that allows Archer to source autonomy technology from Wisk. That opens up new pathways for the future growth of Archer. Archer gains a lot from settling with Wisk and Boeing.
Archer announced the settlement on August 10 in its Q2 shareholder letter and was confirmed by Wisk in a press statement. The legal conflict reached its height in May at the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Wisk filed a lawsuit against Archer in 2021, accusing a number of former employees of having stolen intellectual property when they moved to Archer in late 2019-early 2020. Wisk alleged that the eVTOL design revealed by Archer in 2020 was remarkably similar to its own design, notably the patented configuration of the twelve tilt motors, V-shaped tail, and battery technology. It sought $1.0 billion in compensation from Archer.
Active as a journalist since 1987, with a background in newspapers, magazines, and a regional news station, Richard has been covering commercial aviation on a freelance basis since late 2016.
Richard is contributing to AirInsight since December 2018. He also writes for Airliner World, Aviation News, Piloot & Vliegtuig, and Luchtvaartnieuws Magazine. Twitter: @rschuur_aero.
