[msk1986911]

I believe this is a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which was passed in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals including those affecting Enron, Tyco International, Peregrine Systems and WorldCom (thanks to Wikipedia for the background). Apple's interpretation of the law may be especially conservative or read to allow them to rationalize charging their customers for the upgrade. Although I am a big fan of Apple, my money is on the latter explanation.