Joby Aviation to Pay $116.9 Million in Trade Secrets Case

A federal jury in Tampa, Florida, has ordered eVTOL developer Joby Aviation to pay about $116.9 million to aircraft component maker Aerosonic, finding that Joby breached a nondisclosure agreement and willfully misappropriated trade secrets. The verdict came on Friday, October 2.

What the Jury Decided

The case was heard in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. According to AvWeb, the damages break down into roughly $68.6 million for breach of a nondisclosure agreement, $29.9 million for trade-secret misappropriation and $18.3 million in exemplary damages. Together the components come to about $116.9 million.

The jury also found that the misappropriation was willful and malicious. It rejected Joby's counterclaims, which included an allegation that Aerosonic had sold it defective air data probes.

The Dispute Over Air Data Probes

Air data probes are sensors that measure airspeed and related flight data, and they are a critical component of any aircraft's flight control system. Aerosonic and Joby signed a nondisclosure agreement in 2021, and Aerosonic sold probes to Joby in 2022.

Aerosonic alleged that Joby used confidential information shared under that agreement, including engineering drawings, test procedures and reports, 3D models and wind-tunnel data, to develop its own probes. It also alleged that Joby reverse-engineered the probes it had bought. The jury sided with Aerosonic.

Joby's Response

Joby disagrees with the outcome. The company says it developed its air data system independently and has described the decision as unsupported by the evidence and inconsistent with the law, according to various news reports. A Joby spokesperson said the verdict is not a final judgment, and the company has asked the court to overturn it.

Joby can ask the trial court to set aside or modify the verdict before taking the case to an appeals court. Until those steps play out, the damages are not final.

Another Trade Secrets Fight

The verdict comes as Joby is pursuing a trade-secrets case of its own. The company sued rival Archer Aviation and a former employee, George Kivork, alleging that Kivork, a former Joby employee, took confidential information before joining Archer and that Archer used it. 

The two situations are separate. In the Aerosonic case, Joby is the defendant, accused by a supplier. In the Archer case, Joby is the party alleging that a competitor and a former employee took its confidential 

information.

What It Means for Joby

Joby remains one of the leading companies in the race to launch commercial electric air taxi service, and it is working through the Federal Aviation Administration's type certification process for its aircraft. The verdict does not directly affect that process, but a damages award of this size, if upheld, would be a significant financial obligation for a company that is still building toward commercial operations.

Disputes between aerospace suppliers and their customers over shared technical data are not unusual, and nondisclosure agreements are the standard way such information is protected. The size of this verdict, with nearly $69 million attributed to the breach of the agreement itself, shows how seriously a jury can treat those obligations.

Joby's post-trial motions will be the next thing to watch. If the court leaves the verdict in place, Joby has said it will appeal.