diff --git a/apply_license.sh b/apply_license.sh
index 91ef37c..a7a1061 100755
--- a/apply_license.sh
+++ b/apply_license.sh
@@ -3,5 +3,8 @@
     if ! grep -q Copyright $f; then
         cat COPYRIGHT.txt $f > $f.license.py
         mv $f.license.py $f
+        #prepend shebang for python
+        sed -i -e '/^\#\!\/usr\/bin/d' -e '1i\#\!/usr/bin/env python' $f
+        chmod +x $f
     fi
-done
\ No newline at end of file
+done