diff --git a/tools/distrib/check_copyright.py b/tools/distrib/check_copyright.py
index 5e948e2deeb6f8827c56600cf606f703b98f3f73..d6f2809e57f7eb988517c61f28acdf79d5e6d701 100755
--- a/tools/distrib/check_copyright.py
+++ b/tools/distrib/check_copyright.py
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ RE_LICENSE = dict(
 
 def load(name):
   with open(name) as f:
-    return '\n'.join(line.rstrip() for line in f.read().splitlines())
+    return f.read()
 
 def save(name, text):
   with open(name, 'w') as f: