Patent ID: 7600123

Claim:
A method in a computer system with a processor and memory for registering a certificate after issuance of the certificate, the method comprising: receiving a certificate registration request from a client to register the certificate that has already been issued and that is to be registered, wherein the certificate registration request comprises the certificate and a signature, and wherein the certificate includes a unique token; determining by the computer system whether the certificate is a valid certificate; determining by the computer system whether the client is an authentic client based on the signature of the certificate registration request; determining by the computer system whether the unique token is already associated with a registered certificate; and when it is determined that the certificate is valid and the client is authentic, registering the certificate when the unique token is not already associated with a registered certificate, wherein registering the certificate comprises: determining whether a service ID is included in the certificate registration request; when it is determined that a service ID is included in the request, determining whether the service ID is associated with a registration record for a less trusted certificate; when it is determined that the service ID is associated with a registration record for a less trusted certificate, updating the registration record associated with the service ID, wherein the updating the registration record includes indicating that the registration record is for the certificate included in the certificate registration request; and sending a successful registration response to the client; and renewing the registration of the certificate when the unique token is already associated with a registered certificate for the authentic client.