Wisk Aero has asked the U.S. District Court in San Francisco to grant a preliminary injunction to stop Archer Aviation from using what the former claims are confidential trade secrets in the latter's planned eVTOL. The May 19 filing also seeks orders requiring Archer to provide full access to evidence for the trial due to start on July 7 in which Wisk will allege that the rival startup has based its five-seat, all-electric eVTOL on Wisk's own designs for a product it has had in development for several years.

Meanwhile, Wisk confirmed that the company is cooperating with an ongoing criminal investigation by the FBI and Department of Justice relating to allegations that a former employee stole trade secrets before moving to a role with Archer. The latest court filing names Jing Xue as the former employee subject to the investigation, alleging that he improperly downloaded almost 5,000 data files onto a personal device that he subsequently gave to Archer after joining the company in January 2020. 

Archer has strenuously denied the allegations. In a written statement, it said, “This a baseless motion in a baseless lawsuit. Archer independently designed its aircraft, before any employees from Wisk joined Archer, and Archer looks forward to demonstrating that in court. Archer is moving forward with its business plans, including the development, certification, and production of its proprietary aircraft.”  

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