If you’ve purchased a new Mac any time since June 6, you can get a free copy of OS X Lion from Apple as part of their Lion Up to Date program. The deal also applies to companies or individuals who bought qualifying Mac servers.

[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]Here’s the word straight from the horse’s mouth:

“If you’ve purchased a qualifying computer that does not include OS X Lion, you can upgrade to Lion free of charge. And if you recently purchased a qualifying Mac Server, you can upgrade to Lion Server at no additional cost.”

Apple tends to keep its inventory pretty low, so computers are already rolling off the factory lines with Lion pre-installed. Of course, the newly refreshed Mac minis and MacBook Airs will be the first outs out of the gate with Lion, but other models follow.

So if you do get a new machine that doesn’t have Lion installed on it (from Apple or from an authorized dealer, specifically), Apple gives you the ability to get a free copy. This Up to Date Program is similar to what Apple’s done in the past.

Of course, the big difference now is that you need to download your copy of Lion from the Mac App Store – Apple hasn’t released Lion as a retail product, and won’t until August, when it shows up on a USB thumbdrive.

Waiting for that to happen is a mistake, though: Apple imposes pretty strict time limits on redeeming your free copy of Lion, so don’t procrastinate – make sure to jump on it while you can, and save yourself the $30.