Archer Aviation Sues Vertical Aerospace With many eVTOL companies now firmly in the latter stages of their developmental testing and or nearing certification testing, entry into service is clearly in the crosshairs of companies like Archer Aviation and Vertical Aerospace. Archer Aviation hails from California, The United States while Vertical Aerospace is from the UK, out of Bristol. The rivalry has heated between these two companies leading to a lawsuit. Archer has formally sued Vertical Aerospace.
Archer Aviation has sued Vertical Aerospace on the grounds of certain patent infringements. You might remember Vertical Aerospace unveiled their latest design iteration of the VX4 which they now call the VALO aircraft. https://www.jetforums.net/threads/news-vertical-aerospace-unveils-valo-evtol.5173/ . In this new lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Texas, Archer has complained that Vertical’s new VALO design illegally copies its Midnight aircraft. https://www.jetforums.net/threads/n...ven-final-faa-criteria-to-certification.4927/.
Vertical Aerospace has not taken this lightly and issued a statement. "Archer’s claims are merely an attempt to distract from Archer’s challenges competing in the marketplace," said Vertical. "Vertical has developed a robust aircraft design with a clear path to certification, underpinned by Vertical’s proprietary and market-leading technology and international IP portfolio." Below is an AIN comparison chart showcasing the two designs side-by-side.
"After years of developing its VX4 aircraft, Vertical has abandoned that design and unveiled a new aircraft, VALO, which is a visual mimic of Archer’s Midnight aircraft’s award-winning industrial design,” an Archer spokeswoman said. Archer suggests that D1,062,878 and D1,067,164 have been infringed upon along with 11,945,597 utility patent. “Vertical has knowingly, willfully, and in reckless disregard leveraged and exploited the substantial goodwill and reputation associated with Archer’s patented designs,” the Archer lawsuit argued. “Vertical’s infringement is readily apparent from a visual comparison of the overall appearance of the VALO to Archer’s patented designs.” ***
