Archer Aviation filed a patent infringement lawsuit against rival eVTOL developer Vertical Aerospace, alleging that Vertical’s newly unveiled Valo aircraft copies protected elements of Archer’s Midnight design.
Archer filed the complaint on February 23, 2026, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The company alleges that Vertical infringed two US design patents covering the Midnight’s external appearance and one utility patent tied to flight-control architecture and propulsion management.
Archer said it holds US design patents D1,062,878 and D1,067,164, which protect distinctive aspects of the Midnight’s configuration, including elements of the fuselage and empennage layout. Archer argues that Vertical abandoned its earlier VX4 configuration and introduced the Valo with a configuration that closely mirrors Midnight’s overall appearance.
Archer also claims that Vertical infringed US Patent No. 11,945,597, which covers control allocation methods used to manage distributed electric propulsion systems and battery power within Midnight’s tiltrotor architecture. Archer asserts that these systems form a core part of Midnight’s protected technology and that Vertical incorporated similar methods into the Valo design.
Archer asked the court to award damages and grant injunctive relief that could block Vertical from using the disputed designs and technology.
Vertical Aerospace rejected the allegations. In a public statement, the UK-based company said it developed the Valo independently and built the aircraft based on its own proprietary technology and international intellectual property portfolio. Vertical said it will defend the case vigorously.
The lawsuit escalates competition between two prominent eVTOL developers racing toward certification and commercial service. Archer continues to advance the Midnight aircraft with plans to launch US air taxi operations later this decade. Vertical has flown its VX4 prototype for several years and recently introduced the four-passenger Valo concept as part of its next development phase.
The case highlights growing intellectual property tensions across the eVTOL sector. Several manufacturers rely on distributed electric propulsion, high-mounted wings, and multi-rotor configurations to meet performance and certification requirements. As companies converge on similar aerodynamic and structural solutions, design distinctions become more difficult to draw.
Investors and regulators continue to scrutinize progress toward certification milestones as developers compete for capital and early operating partnerships. Legal disputes over patents could shape how aggressively manufacturers protect design language and control-system architecture as the market approaches entry into service.
The lawsuit marks the latest intellectual property dispute in the eVTOL sector. In 2021, Wisk Aero, backed by Boeing, sued Archer in California alleging trade secret misappropriation. Archer denied those claims, and the companies later reached a settlement in 2023 that included a cross-licensing agreement and Wisk taking an equity stake in Archer.
Archer has expanded its intellectual property position recently through acquisitions. In 2025, the company acquired roughly 300 patents from insolvent German eVTOL developer Lilium after a competitive bidding process. The portfolio covered electric propulsion, battery systems, flight controls and aircraft configuration technologies, and significantly expanded Archer’s global IP holdings.
