When Nguyen brokered the sale of Color (its engineering team, if not product) to Apple this fall, Witherspoon claims he was excluded from the discussions, the opportunity to go to Apple, and later received an inferior severance package.

FORBES: A Mess Of Family Dynamics Alleged In Lawsuit Against Silicon Valley Entrepreneur And Color Founder Bill Nguyen

"I never look at color...but there's social engineering going on for the bench, " said Mr. Bonacic.

WSJ: GOP Rebels as Cuomo Shifts Left

"Combining the world class-technology and materials expertise of Nanosys with the engineering, design and supply chain capabilities of 3M will unlock a powerful new color viewing experience for consumers, " said Jim Bauman, Vice President of the Optical Systems Division at 3M.

ENGADGET: 3M and Nanosys team-up to roll out quantum dot-enhanced LCDs