Yahoo Finance Boeing sued over allegations it stole trade secrets for Nasa rocket
Boeing has been accused of “brazenly stealing” the ideas of a supplier for its work on Nasa’s International Space Station and its Space Launch Systems moon rocket.
The US aerospace giant allegedly adapted tools developed by Wilson Aerospace, a Colorado-based company, when developing systems for docking space crafts.
Boeing insists that the lawsuit is “rife with inaccuracies and omissions,” and that the aerospace company will vigorously defend itself in court.
Wilson worked with Boeing over a period of years. However, Boeing is accused of then taking the company’s technology for its own use and adapting it.
Wilson has also accused Boeing of putting “lives at risk” after its adapted technology led to leaks on the International Space Station.
Wilson’s products include the Fluid Fitting Torque Device for use on the space station, which it alleges Boeing adapted and stole. Various parts were overtightened in Boeing’s adaptation, the lawsuit alleges.
The mismatched tools then led to fluid leaks and delays for launches related to the Space Launch System rocket, which cost Nasa “hundreds of millions of dollars”.
The allegation is included in a lawsuit against Boeing field by Wilson Aerospace.
David Wilson, founder of Wilson Aerospace, said: “Boeing has not only stolen our intellectual property and damaged our company’s reputation but has used the technology incorrectly and at the expense of astronauts’ safety, which is beyond despicable.
“I hope that this lawsuit will put a stop to Boeing’s repeated practice of prioritising its own profits over safety.”
The lawsuit claims: “Although Boeing paid Wilson for some of its work over the years, Boeing’s primary approach was to steal Wilson’s intellectual property through deception and other illegal means, rather than to compensate.”
Boeing has been accused of stealing intellectual property before. In support of its claim, Wilson pointed to allegations from 2006 when Boeing was implicated in stealing thousands of pages of Lockeed Martin documents.
The company ultimately agreed to pay a $615m (£493m) fine to end a three-year probe into the matter.
Wilson Aerospace claims it has lost hundreds of millions of dollars, the company’s lawyers, Pete Flowers, told CNBC. Wilson has made 10 claims including misappropriation and theft of trade secrets, fraud and copyright infringement relating to work done between 2014 and 2016.
