HP has announced that it will provide firmware updates through the HP Support Center only to customers with a valid warranty, Care Pack Service or support agreement, effective 19 February 2014. As per an official blog posting, HP described this move as their intention to offer differentiated and long-term value in the products and services.
"This decision reinforces our goal to provide access to the latest HP firmware, which is valuable intellectual property, for our customers who have chosen to maximize and protect their IT investments. We know this is a change from how we’ve done business in the past; however, this aligns with industry best practices and is the right decision for our customers and partners," according to an official statement.
Those customers under HP's warranty or support coverage are not required to pay for firmware access.
Read more here.