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In August 2023, electric vertical take-off and landing developers Wisk and Archer Aviation concluded a two-year pitched legal battle over trade secrets just days before the case was scheduled to go to trial. Their settlement, which was face-saving for both sides, included a substantial payment from Archer to Wisk, an equity investment in Archer by Wisk parent company Boeing, and a deal that Wisk would serve as the exclusive autonomy provider for future autonomous versions of Archer’s aircraft, provided the companies could arrive at mutually agreeable terms and conditions.
For the next 10 months the matter appeared to be resolved, at least as far as the public was concerned. However, in June of this year, Wisk went back to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, asking it to enforce the settlement agreement. The original public filings in the case were heavily redacted, indicating only that the dispute involved a second tranche of warrants for Wisk to purchase Archer shares.
Related: Archer and Wisk legal battle ends with surprise collaboration
On Sept. 6, the court ruled largely but not entirely in Wisk’s favor, and on Nov. 5, it denied Wisk’s motion to file for partial reconsideration. In the process, an exasperated Judge William H. Orrick directed the parties to disclose information that was initially filed under seal, thus putting many previously redacted details into the public record — including the majority of Wisk and Archer’s confidential settlement agreement.
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