Losing Equipment Rights to High Quality Item

I just lost equipment rights to a rare helmet I had upgraded to 12% quality just by picking up and equipping another helmet. It had a Strength prerequisite on it that I must have fulfilled when I first equipped it and that I lost along the way. If you're looking for the best way to piss off players, you're on the right track. I don't mind item prerequisites but dont let us get rid of the items that allow us to meet those requirements without fair warning. And definitely don't deny us the right to a quality-enhanced item just by trying out another one.