human: How do you manage a Digital Certificate (EPF) file on multiple computers or in multiple locations on the same computer?
assistant: The PKI digital certificate provide by the USPTO may be stored on multiple computers or in multiple locations within the same computer by saving a copy of the "".EPF"" file to a disk or CD and transferring it over to the desired computer(s) or by copying the file to other locations on the same computer. This can also be achieved by emailing the file as an attachment and then receiving the file on a different computer.
The certificate expires 27 months after it was originally issued or recovered. If you use the digital certificate during the last 100 days of this time period, the certificate will be updated automatically. Once updated, the certificate will be renewed for another 27 months. This renewal process continues indefinitely. If the certificate is not used by the customer during that 100-day period, it will expire and the customer must use either self recovery or must have an EBC-assisted recovery.
Only one copy of the digital certificate will be renewed through the automatic update process. Any other copy, on a customer's alternate computer or disk drive, will not be renewed and will need to be replaced. In order for the automatic renewal process to work, the .EPF file should be stored in a location with write permission.