diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index d8e0bab7ff9..51f2f0b6514 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -387,7 +387,7 @@ lint: ## (re)run the linter
 fmt: $(BUILD)/fmt ## run goimports
 
 # not identical to the intermediate target, but does provide the same codegen (or more).
-copyright: $(BIN)/copyright ## update copyright headers
+copyright: $(BIN)/copyright | $(BUILD) ## update copyright headers
 	$(BIN)/copyright
 	$Q touch $(BUILD)/copyright