diff --git a/CHANGELOG.rst b/CHANGELOG.rst
index e7ceab6a2..f2000e640 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.rst
+++ b/CHANGELOG.rst
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ Release 0.15.0 (unreleased)
 ==============================
 
 * Add ``replay-patches`` command to step through patch contributions interactively (#1290)
+* Fix a root-level directory matching a license glob being vendored alongside ``src:`` (#1428)
 
 Release 0.14.4 (released 2026-08-28)
 ====================================
diff --git a/dfetch/vcs/git.py b/dfetch/vcs/git.py
index a2e42dce5..edd675435 100644
--- a/dfetch/vcs/git.py
+++ b/dfetch/vcs/git.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """Git specific implementation."""
 
 import contextlib
+import fnmatch
 import functools
 import os
 import re
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@
 
 from dfetch.log import get_logger
 from dfetch.util.cmdline import SubprocessCommandError, run_on_cmdline
+from dfetch.util.license import is_license_file
 from dfetch.util.ssh import InvalidSshCommandError, sanitize_ssh_cmd
 from dfetch.util.util import in_directory, safe_rm
 from dfetch.vcs import git_submodule
@@ -487,6 +489,30 @@ def _configure_sparse_checkout(
 
             f.write("\n".join(map(str, patterns)) + "\n")
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _drop_directories_matching_license_globs(src: str | None) -> None:
+        """Undo the license keep patterns matching root-level directories.
+
+        The sparse-checkout keep patterns for license files (see
+        ``LICENSE_GLOBS``) are written without a trailing slash so plain
+        ``fnmatch`` can also recognise them elsewhere; in a sparse-checkout
+        pattern file that same lack of a trailing slash makes them match
+        directories too, e.g. a root-level ``licensecore/`` folder ends up
+        vendored whole (#1428). Only files should ever be kept as license
+        files, so any root-level directory that merely shares the name is
+        removed again here, unless it is the directory requested via
+        ``src:`` itself -- whose leading path component may itself be a
+        glob (e.g. ``licen*/``), so it is matched with ``fnmatch`` too.
+        """
+        keep_root = Path(src).parts[0] if src else None
+        for entry in Path(".").iterdir():
+            if (
+                entry.is_dir()
+                and is_license_file(entry.name)
+                and not (keep_root and fnmatch.fnmatch(entry.name, keep_root))
+            ):
+                safe_rm(entry, within=".")
+
     def checkout_version(
         self,
         options: CheckoutOptions,
@@ -516,6 +542,9 @@ def checkout_version(
             )
             run_on_cmdline(logger, ["git", "reset", "--hard", "FETCH_HEAD"])
 
+            if options.src or options.ignore:
+                self._drop_directories_matching_license_globs(options.src)
+
             if options.eol is not None:
                 self._renormalize_eol()
 
diff --git a/features/keep-license-in-project.feature b/features/keep-license-in-project.feature
index 2e993236b..66ac3a0f1 100644
--- a/features/keep-license-in-project.feature
+++ b/features/keep-license-in-project.feature
@@ -36,6 +36,59 @@ Feature: Keep license in project
                 dfetch.yaml
             """
 
+    Scenario: Root-level folder matching a license glob is not vendored alongside 'src:'
+        Given the manifest 'dfetch.yaml' in MyProject
+            """
+            manifest:
+                version: 0.0
+                projects:
+                    - name: SomeProjectWithLicenseLikeFolder
+                      url: some-remote-server/SomeProjectWithLicenseLikeFolder.git
+                      src: SomeFolder/
+                      tag: v1
+            """
+        And a git-repository "SomeProjectWithLicenseLikeFolder.git" with the files
+            | path                                  |
+            | LICENSE                               |
+            | licensecore/SomeUnrelatedFile.txt     |
+            | SomeFolder/SomeFile.txt               |
+        When I run "dfetch update"
+        Then 'MyProject' looks like:
+            """
+            MyProject/
+                SomeProjectWithLicenseLikeFolder/
+                    .dfetch_data.yaml
+                    LICENSE
+                    SomeFile.txt
+                dfetch.yaml
+            """
+
+    Scenario: A 'src:' glob whose root component looks like a license file is kept
+        Given the manifest 'dfetch.yaml' in MyProject
+            """
+            manifest:
+                version: 0.0
+                projects:
+                    - name: SomeProjectWithLicenseLikeSrc
+                      url: some-remote-server/SomeProjectWithLicenseLikeSrc.git
+                      src: licen*/
+                      tag: v1
+            """
+        And a git-repository "SomeProjectWithLicenseLikeSrc.git" with the files
+            | path                       |
+            | LICENSE                    |
+            | licensecore/SomeFile.txt   |
+        When I run "dfetch update"
+        Then 'MyProject' looks like:
+            """
+            MyProject/
+                SomeProjectWithLicenseLikeSrc/
+                    .dfetch_data.yaml
+                    LICENSE
+                    SomeFile.txt
+                dfetch.yaml
+            """
+
     Scenario: License is preserved in svn repo sparse checkout and cannot be ignored
         Given the manifest 'dfetch.yaml' in MyProject
             """