diff --git a/earwigbot/wiki/copyright.py b/earwigbot/wiki/copyright.py
index 58fdcfb..0108dab 100644
--- a/earwigbot/wiki/copyright.py
+++ b/earwigbot/wiki/copyright.py
@@ -241,6 +241,10 @@ class CopyrightMixin(object):
         article_chain = _MarkovChain(clean)
         last_query = time()
 
+        if article_chain.size() < 20:  # Auto-fail very small articles
+            return _CopyvioCheckResult(False, best_confidence, best_match,
+                                       num_queries, article_chain, best_chains)
+
         while (chunks and best_confidence < min_confidence and
                (max_queries < 0 or num_queries < max_queries)):
             urls = search(chunks.pop(0))