What exactly do you mean by no longer have an App Store account? If I'm not wrong the App Store registers accounts under email addresses, so you may want to try signing in again. This is, of course, unless you deleted your account from the App Store.

@perhapsmaybeharry - the back story is so deep I'd need a dissertation to explain it and all the events. The short of it is, I no longer have any Apple accounts. I tried to get my old one unlocked a couple of years ago by going to the Apple store with my drivers license, passport and credit card used to make purchases. They refused to help me in the store, and sent me back to online help and its labyrinths and mazes that failed to get the account unlocked in the first place. Since they abandoned support of the account, I responded in kind and abandoned it too.

The problem with buying apps from the App Store is that they are licensed to your AppleID. Since you deleted or abandoned the account and can no longer access it, then the software you bought with that account is no longer licensed. 😞 The reference to this is probably buried in the fine print of the AppStore EULA that no one reads.

@ArchonOSX - the app was purchased. When Apple rents you something, they Buy button displays Rent like with a movie. I never rent or lease; I always buy. That includes other durable goods, like cars and houses. If I can't afford it, I go without it.

Unfortunately you are deluded into believing you actually own the software when in fact you are actually just licensing it. Like leasing. Keep raging against the machine though, you may win someday.

I'm struggling with how to handle the flag on your post @jww - we really aren't the place to explain how to strip DRM. I respect your frustration at having to deal with bureaucracy to manage your Apple account.

Also - the concept of licensing software vs buying depends a lot on your jurisdiction but getting larger companies to cut custom arrangements with even moderate sized organizations is cost-prohibitive.

It is regrettable the developers of Space Gremlin could not help further but they are not responsible for the DRM causing this problem. It is a difficult situation.

It's a matter of business model for everyone concerned.

The developer could send someone a custom build - that costs them time and possibly money. They could offer a redemption code (they get a free allotment of codes with each release) and put the onus on JWW to make a new account with Apple.

JWW could try again to reclaim the original account. That costs him time too.

Everyone here made a choice. Apple chose to set things up and handle account problems centrally. Apple chose to put responsibility on people to manage their accounts without needing to show up with an ID physically.

The developer chose to sell via Apple.

JWW chose to exchange money in Apple's storefront and Apple's rules.

It's complicated on a lot of levels.

@jww How much did you spend on that app?

@bmike I don't recall how much it cost. If I had access to my old account, then I could give you a precise amount. For argument's sake, is $3 or $5 or $10 USD OK?

@bmike (Part 1): Ah, you have to be careful with "JWW chose to exchange money in Apple's storefront and Apple's rules". I chose to make a purchase under reasonable terms. It does not it include losing the right to use my purchase after some period of time.

@bmike (Part 2): Apple placing obscene terms is irrelevant because there's no "meeting of the minds". We (consumers) finally got a favorable ruling on that a few years ago in US Federal court. Confer, Zappos.com Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation (MDL No. 2357), U.S. District Court, District of Nevada.

@bmike "JWW could try again to reclaim the original account. That costs him time too....." - I have probably spent 10 to 20 hours trying to get the issues resolved with the Apple account. In a last ditch effort, I went to the Apple Sore in person. I have bore more than my share of the burden, considering all of it is due to Apple and their past data security breaches.

The App Store terms and conditions are quite clear that you license software that won't work if you modify it and that it has restrictions to ensure use is tied to the account you use to purchase it.

reasonable, obscene are opinions - the terms are what they are. You're right that just because something is written - there are competing other written rules, precedent, laws, jurisdictions.

The $$ is to remind us all that you are arguing a larger case here - the language you are using tends to guide this to straw man territory as opposed to helping you out with understanding how to run an app that presumably simply lacks a valid signing certificate at this point.