diff --git a/lib/index.js b/lib/index.js
index 8445925..e46ea7e 100644
--- a/lib/index.js
+++ b/lib/index.js
@@ -42,20 +42,6 @@ const strictDefaults = [
   '/.git',
 ]
 
-const allLevels = [
-  // these are included by default but can be excluded by package.json files array
-  '!/readme{,.*[^~$]}',
-  '!/copying{,.*[^~$]}',
-  '!/license{,.*[^~$]}',
-  '!/licence{,.*[^~$]}',
-]
-
-const rootOnly = [
-  /^!.*readme/i,
-  /^!.*copying/i,
-  /^!.*licen[sc]e/i,
-]
-
 const normalizePath = (path) => path.split('\\').join('/')
 
 const readOutOfTreeIgnoreFiles = (root, rel, result = []) => {
@@ -141,7 +127,6 @@ class PackWalker extends IgnoreWalker {
       // known required files for this directory
       this.injectRules(strictRules, [
         ...strictDefaults,
-        ...allLevels,
         ...this.requiredFiles.map((file) => `!${file}`),
       ])
     }
@@ -294,8 +279,11 @@ class PackWalker extends IgnoreWalker {
     const ignores = []
     const strict = [
       ...strictDefaults,
-      ...allLevels,
       '!/package.json',
+      '!/readme{,.*[^~$]}',
+      '!/copying{,.*[^~$]}',
+      '!/license{,.*[^~$]}',
+      '!/licence{,.*[^~$]}',
       '/.git',
       '/node_modules',
       '.npmrc',
@@ -314,9 +302,6 @@ class PackWalker extends IgnoreWalker {
           file = file.slice(0, -1)
         }
         const inverse = `!${file}`
-
-        this.excludeNonRoot(file)
-
         try {
           // if an entry in the files array is a specific file, then we need to include it as a
           // strict requirement for this package. if it's a directory or a pattern, it's a default
@@ -365,20 +350,6 @@ class PackWalker extends IgnoreWalker {
     this.injectRules(strictRules, strict, callback)
   }
 
-  // excludes non root files by checking if elements from the files array in
-  // package.json contain an ! and readme/license/licence/copying, and then
-  // removing readme/license/licence/copying accordingly from strict defaults
-  excludeNonRoot (file) {
-    // Find the pattern
-    const matchingPattern = rootOnly.find(regex => regex.test(file))
-
-    if (matchingPattern) {
-      // Find which index matches the pattern and remove it from allLevels
-      const indexToRemove = allLevels.findIndex(element => matchingPattern.test(element))
-      allLevels.splice(indexToRemove, 1)
-    }
-  }
-
   // custom method: after we've finished gathering the files for the root package, we call this
   // before emitting the 'done' event in order to gather all of the files for bundled deps
   async gatherBundles () {
diff --git a/test/package-json-negate-non-root.js b/test/package-json-negate-non-root.js
index 02c3c85..8db7143 100644
--- a/test/package-json-negate-non-root.js
+++ b/test/package-json-negate-non-root.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// exclude readme, license, and licnce files if package.json
+// exclude readme, license, and licence files if package.json
 // files array includes !readme, !license, or !licence
 'use strict'
 
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ const packlist = require('../')
 const pkg = t.testdir({
   'package.json': JSON.stringify({
     files: [
-      '**/*.js',
+      'lib',
       '!readme.md',
       '!licence',
       '!license',
@@ -65,5 +65,8 @@ t.test('package with negated readme, licence and license files', async (t) => {
     'lib/a/b/c/c.js',
     'package.json',
     'readme.md',
+    'lib/a/b/c/file.txt',
+    'lib/a/b/file.txt',
+    'lib/a/file.txt',
   ])
 })