diff --git a/README b/README
index 12d37bc4434951456397ee08236c61e390a4a7e2..2a0a7805d189ec0eced48945387e7e15ae52f8e0 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ This is Gmsh, an automatic three-dimensional finite element mesh
 generator, primarily Delaunay, with built-in pre- and post-processing
 facilities.
 
-Gmsh is free software. See the file COPYING for copying
+Gmsh is free software. See the file doc/COPYING for copying
 permission. Parts of Gmsh are distributed with additional license
 requirements. Check individual files for more information. Most
 notably, if you incorporate the Triangle/ library, Gmsh can only be
diff --git a/COPYING b/doc/COPYING
similarity index 100%
rename from COPYING
rename to doc/COPYING