The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) and the British Hospitality Association (BHA) have been successful in a long-running legal dispute over playing music in public areas.

Pubs, restaurants and hotels could now receive a share of up to £20m in refunds after the Copyright Tribunal ruled that fees set by Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) were too high. The tribunal has also ruled that PPL - which collects royalties on behalf of performing artists - will only be allowed to increase tariffs by 10 per cent in a move that could save the industry around £5m a year.

PPL has announced that it intends to appeal the ruling in the High Court, although if the challenge fails, the company faces the prospect of paying at least £50 interest-free in refunds to businesses who have paid excess charges since the tariffs were altered in 2005. BBPA chief executive Brigid Simmonds said: "This is a major victory for the industry - not to mention the fully justified prospect of refunds for overpayments in recent years.

"It's been a long struggle, but worth it. We will be doing everything we can to ensure that any appeal case is heard quickly so that the matter of repayments can be settled as soon as possible." Martin Couchman, deputy chief executive of the BHA, said: "This successful result shows how much time and effort the industry needs to spend when it fights damaging decisions made by public monopolies."

PPL chair and chief executive officer Fran Nevrkla, added: "We are extremely disappointed by the decision of the tribunal which, even by its own admission, is 'ill-equipped' to perform its new investigatory role. "The tribunal's one-size-fits-all approach, which was proposed by the hospitality industry, is particularly unfair to small pubs and shops that in future would pay exactly the same as much larger businesses."