diff --git a/cortex-m-rt/CHANGELOG.md b/cortex-m-rt/CHANGELOG.md
index fe639fb8..176a6784 100644
--- a/cortex-m-rt/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/cortex-m-rt/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/).
 - Mark `pre_init` as deprecated
 - Add `set_msplim` feature to conditionally set the MSPLIM register at device
   reset ([#580]).
+- Add `skip-data-copy` feature to prevent copying the `.data` section from the 
+  load address to the virtual address. Use when the load address is inaccessible 
+  by the time user code runs, such as when copying from flash or when booting
+  from an external device. Note that this relies on the bootloader to have already
+  copied `.data` to the VMA before relinquishing control.
 
 ## [v0.7.5]
 
diff --git a/cortex-m-rt/Cargo.toml b/cortex-m-rt/Cargo.toml
index 377a8d5d..b2be8aa1 100644
--- a/cortex-m-rt/Cargo.toml
+++ b/cortex-m-rt/Cargo.toml
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ set-vtor = []
 set-msplim = []
 zero-init-ram = []
 paint-stack = []
+skip-data-copy = []
 
 [package.metadata.docs.rs]
 features = ["device"]
diff --git a/cortex-m-rt/src/lib.rs b/cortex-m-rt/src/lib.rs
index 20ed4f11..7d2cac1d 100644
--- a/cortex-m-rt/src/lib.rs
+++ b/cortex-m-rt/src/lib.rs
@@ -221,6 +221,14 @@
 //! where the stack has been used the 'paint' will have been 'scrubbed off' and the memory will
 //! have a value other than `STACK_PAINT_VALUE`.
 //!
+//! ## `skip-data-copy`
+//!
+//! Skips copying the .data section (containing the initial values for static variables) when a bootloader
+//! (or other mechanism) is responsible for initializing the section. Use when the code is loaded from a location
+//! that's invalid after the bootloader runs (e.g. copy-from-XIP or copy-from-network boot). For example,
+//! rp2040-boot2 with `BOOT_LOADER_RAM_MEMCPY` (not the default of boot2!) set, which copies the code out
+//! of the XIP flash memory and then disables the XIP peripheral afterwards.
+//!
 //! # Inspection
 //!
 //! This section covers how to inspect a binary that builds on top of `cortex-m-rt`.
@@ -616,6 +624,7 @@ cfg_global_asm! {
      1:",
 
     // Initialise .data memory. `__sdata`, `__sidata`, and `__edata` come from the linker script.
+    #[cfg(not(feature = "skip-data-copy"))]
     "ldr r0, =__sdata
      ldr r1, =__edata
      ldr r2, =__sidata