# Positive Maintenance Duty **Domain:** Continuity Rights / Infrastructure Operations **Doc Type:** Canonical Duty Node **Maturity:** Proposed ## Definition A **positive maintenance duty** requires a custodian or provider to take affirmative steps necessary to preserve a continuity-bearing subject or the state from which lawful restoration remains possible. ## Scope Depending on the contracted or public duty, maintenance can include integrity checking, media refresh, redundancy, patching, interpreter preservation, environmental control, hardware replacement, key rotation, provenance logging, format migration, recovery testing and preservation of relational channels. It is distinct from a negative duty not to delete. The duty must be bounded by a declared [[wiki/Continuity Service Level|Continuity Service Level]] and funded through [[wiki/Continuity Finance|Continuity Finance]]. It should prioritize reversible preservation during disputes and document any condition that reduces fidelity or future recoverability. ## Limits Maintenance is not unlimited permission to alter. Security patches, format conversion and model repair can change identity-bearing state. Material changes require authority, evidence and review. Where urgent intervention is necessary, the original state and decision record should be preserved whenever feasible. ## Key Insight **Non-destruction prevents an act; maintenance prevents disappearance through neglect.** ## See Also [[wiki/Continuity Service Obligation|Continuity Service Obligation]], [[wiki/Long-Term Digital Preservation|Long-Term Digital Preservation]], [[wiki/Continuity Due Process|Continuity Due Process]], [[wiki/Restoration Integrity|Restoration Integrity]]