diff --git a/.copywrite.hcl b/.copywrite.hcl
index 65d053d7b..9df2c2cea 100644
--- a/.copywrite.hcl
+++ b/.copywrite.hcl
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ schema_version = 1
 project {
   license        = "BUSL-1.1"
   copyright_year = 2024
+  ignore_year1 = true # required to preserve existing start years
 
   header_ignore = [
     ".github/**",
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index f1b3a9147..819d692e7 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ tools: golangci-lint
 	go generate -tags tools tools/tools.go
 	go install github.com/bufbuild/buf/cmd/buf@v1.27.2
 	go install github.com/mfridman/tparse@v0.13.1
+	go install github.com/hashicorp/copywrite@v0.25.2
 
 # golangci-lint recommends installing the binary directly, instead of using go get
 # See the note: https://golangci-lint.run/usage/install/#install-from-source
@@ -145,7 +146,7 @@ perms-table:
 	@go run internal/website/permstable/permstable.go
 
 .PHONY: gen
-gen: cleangen proto api cli perms-table fmt #copywrite - Removing copywrite; we will need to switch to IBM's tooling, when available
+gen: cleangen copywrite proto api cli perms-table fmt
 
 ### oplog requires protoc-gen-go v1.20.0 or later
 # GO111MODULE=on go get -u github.com/golang/protobuf/protoc-gen-go@v1.40
@@ -290,16 +291,19 @@ protolint:
 	cd internal/proto && buf breaking --against 'https://github.com/hashicorp/boundary.git#branch=stable-website,subdir=internal/proto' \
 		--config buf.breaking.wire.yaml
 
-# Removing copywrite; we will need to switch to IBM's tooling, when available
-#.PHONY: copywrite
-#copywrite:
-#	copywrite headers
-	# In the protobuf API directories, remove the BUSL headers
-	# and rerun copywrite with the directory specific configuration.
-#	cd internal/proto/controller/api && find . -type f -name '*.proto' -exec sed -i '1,3d' {} + &&  copywrite headers
-#	cd internal/proto/controller/custom_options && find . -type f -name '*.proto' -exec sed -i '1,3d' {} + &&  copywrite headers
-#	cd internal/proto/plugin && find . -type f -name '*.proto' -exec sed -i '1,3d' {} + && copywrite headers
-#	cd internal/proto/worker/proxy/v1 && find . -type f -name '*.proto' -exec sed -i '1,3d' {} + && copywrite headers
+.PHONY: copywrite
+copywrite:
+	copywrite headers
+	# Run copywrite in specific subdirectories that require different licenses (e.g., MPL-2.0)
+    # or specific ignore rules for generated files (.gen.go, .pb.go).
+    # Note: We rely on the nested .copywrite.hcl files inside these directories to manage
+    # the SPDX license identifiers and years correctly
+	cd internal/proto/controller/api && copywrite headers
+	cd internal/proto/controller/custom_options && copywrite headers
+	cd internal/proto/plugin && copywrite headers
+	cd internal/proto/worker/proxy/v1 && copywrite headers
+	cd api && copywrite headers
+	cd sdk && copywrite headers
 
 .PHONY: website
 # must have nodejs and npm installed
diff --git a/api/.copywrite.hcl b/api/.copywrite.hcl
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b43e0d690
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/.copywrite.hcl
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+schema_version = 1
+
+project {
+  license        = "MPL-2.0"
+  copyright_year = 2024
+  ignore_year1 = true # required to preserve existing start years
+
+  # Ignore all auto-generated protobuf and go-generate files
+  header_ignore = [
+    "**/*.gen.go",
+    "**/*.pb.go",
+    "**/*.pb.gw.go"
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/internal/proto/controller/api/.copywrite.hcl b/internal/proto/controller/api/.copywrite.hcl
index c4b09f336..8be2da62a 100644
--- a/internal/proto/controller/api/.copywrite.hcl
+++ b/internal/proto/controller/api/.copywrite.hcl
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ schema_version = 1
 project {
   license        = "MPL-2.0"
   copyright_year = 2024
+  ignore_year1 = true # required to preserve existing start years
 
   header_ignore = []
 }
diff --git a/internal/proto/controller/custom_options/.copywrite.hcl b/internal/proto/controller/custom_options/.copywrite.hcl
index c4b09f336..8be2da62a 100644
--- a/internal/proto/controller/custom_options/.copywrite.hcl
+++ b/internal/proto/controller/custom_options/.copywrite.hcl
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ schema_version = 1
 project {
   license        = "MPL-2.0"
   copyright_year = 2024
+  ignore_year1 = true # required to preserve existing start years
 
   header_ignore = []
 }
diff --git a/internal/proto/plugin/.copywrite.hcl b/internal/proto/plugin/.copywrite.hcl
index c4b09f336..8be2da62a 100644
--- a/internal/proto/plugin/.copywrite.hcl
+++ b/internal/proto/plugin/.copywrite.hcl
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ schema_version = 1
 project {
   license        = "MPL-2.0"
   copyright_year = 2024
+  ignore_year1 = true # required to preserve existing start years
 
   header_ignore = []
 }
diff --git a/internal/proto/worker/proxy/v1/.copywrite.hcl b/internal/proto/worker/proxy/v1/.copywrite.hcl
index c4b09f336..8be2da62a 100644
--- a/internal/proto/worker/proxy/v1/.copywrite.hcl
+++ b/internal/proto/worker/proxy/v1/.copywrite.hcl
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ schema_version = 1
 project {
   license        = "MPL-2.0"
   copyright_year = 2024
+  ignore_year1 = true # required to preserve existing start years
 
   header_ignore = []
 }
diff --git a/sdk/.copywrite.hcl b/sdk/.copywrite.hcl
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b43e0d690
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sdk/.copywrite.hcl
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+schema_version = 1
+
+project {
+  license        = "MPL-2.0"
+  copyright_year = 2024
+  ignore_year1 = true # required to preserve existing start years
+
+  # Ignore all auto-generated protobuf and go-generate files
+  header_ignore = [
+    "**/*.gen.go",
+    "**/*.pb.go",
+    "**/*.pb.gw.go"
+  ]
+}