Joby Aviation Liable for Willful Trade Secret Theft

A federal jury has found Joby Aviation liable for willfully misappropriating Aerosonic’s trade secrets. The jury in Tampa, Florida, awarded the aircraft component manufacturer nearly $116.9 million in damages last week.

The verdict centers on air data probes. The jury determined Joby breached a mutual nondisclosure agreement and committed willful and malicious trade-secret misappropriation. Damages were broken into three categories.

Background of the NDA and Probe Supply

Aerosonic and Joby signed a nondisclosure agreement in 2021. Following the agreement, Aerosonic began supplying proprietary air data probes for Joby’s flight-test aircraft. The manufacturer provided extensive engineering data, including drawings, test procedures, 3D models, and wind-tunnel data.

Days after receiving the first probe in April 2022, Joby asked to purchase the intellectual property rights to Aerosonic’s designs. Aerosonic refused this request.

Allegations of Misuse and Reverse Engineering

Aerosonic alleged Joby used its confidential materials to develop a competing system. The company claimed Joby had already decided to develop its own probes internally while continuing to solicit confidential information. A specific allegation pointed to a distinctive interface geometry on Joby’s probe that matched a design in Aerosonic’s engineering materials.

The court allowed the case to proceed, finding Aerosonic’s allegations supported an inference that Joby used trade secrets either directly from the engineering data or via reverse-engineering purchased probes.

Joby’s Response and Broader Legal Context

Joby denies the verdict and plans to appeal. The company maintains it developed its air data technology independently through years of its own engineering work. A Joby spokesperson stated, "Joby denies the verdict, stating it independently developed its technology and intends to appeal the decision." The jury rejected Joby’s counterclaims, which included allegations that Aerosonic supplied defective probes.

This verdict intensifies scrutiny on intellectual property practices within the competitive eVTOL sector. The industry has seen several high-profile legal disputes in recent years. Notably, Joby is simultaneously pursuing its own trade-secret case against competitor Archer Aviation and a former employee, alleging theft of confidential company information.

Joby has asked the court to overturn the verdict and intends to vigorously pursue all available post-trial and appellate remedies.