dílo

Dílo is a Czech noun meaning a work or opus resulting from creative activity. It designates a concrete output such as a book, painting, musical composition, software, or another original product. In common usage, it appears in phrases like umělecké dílo, literární dílo, vědecké dílo, hudební dílo, or simply dílo. The term can refer to a single author’s output, a collection, or a work created collaboratively. In Czech, there are specific expressions for collective or joint creations, such as kolektivní dílo or dílo více autorů (spoluautorské dílo).

Etymology and context: dílo derives from the Czech word for a product of effort or making. It is used across cultural, scientific, and legal contexts to denote the result of human creativity, regardless of medium.

Legal status: In Czech copyright law, dílo is the original result of intellectual creation fixed in a tangible form and protected by copyright. Examples include literary, artistic, and musical works, films, software, databases, and choreographies. Intellectual property rights comprise osobnostní práva (moral rights) and majetková práva (economic rights), which enable the author to control use and reproduction of the work. Protection generally lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years after their death, and works created collaboratively may be managed as kolektivní dílo or dílo spoluautorů.

See also: usage in cultural and academic contexts, distinctions between different kinds of works, and the concept of authorship in copyright law.