The European Court of Justice has ruled that dentists do not have to pay royalties on music played in surgeries to relax patients but hotels who play music in rooms or reception areas do.
The ruling came after an Italian dentist appealed against a case brought by the copyright society in Italy.
The court ruled that dentists do not profit from playing music in surgeries and the numbers are insignificant, whereas music in hotel rooms is seen as a customer service and the hotels do profit from such a service.
The ruling means that Ireland has to change its laws to be in line with the rest of the EU. Ireland currently exempts hotels from paying copyright royalties for music.