Scientific-Atlanta and Gemstar-TV Guide International have settled a long-standing legal standoff involving interactive program guide (IPG) technology.

On the financial end, S-A will pay $154 million to Gemstar, and Gemstar will fork over about $89 million to S-A.

The settlement, to be meted out over a span of 9.5 years, is also comprised of a global patent cross-licensing deal that gives each company access to the other's IPG patents. S-A has also agreed to help Gemstar port its IPGs onto the Explorer set-top platform. The agreements are good for up to 9.5 years, the companies said.

S-A said it expects to incur a charge of $30 million to $50 million in Q4 as a result of the settlement.

S-A is the latest IPG firm to settle with Gemstar. Pioneer Electronics and Gemstar resolved their differences in February 2004. EchoStar Communications and Gemstar announced a settlement a month later.