Profile
Ik Ze Cho works, among others, as a partner in the Korea desk of prominent law firms in Munich, Seoul, and Frankfurt, advising domestic and international companies. Since 2017, he has been helping Korean startups enter Europe by founding TNBT, a European startup law firm, where he advises Korean companies, Korean startups in Europe, and Korean investors from different perspectives.
Mr. Cho has extensive experience in the areas of intellectual property, technology disputes, tax law, and real estate transactions, as well as the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). He has advised Korean fintech, insurtech, and healthcare startups, as well as Korean and European high net worth individuals (HNWIs) on the establishment and operation of family offices and European family foundations. His other experience includes data protection law, tax law, banking and insurance law, and advising soccer players on their entry into Europe.
Experience
- 2002-2004
IPR lawyer, Bardehle IP Law, Munich
- 2004-2009
IPR lawyer, Lee International, Seoul
- 2010-2016
Partner, FPS Lawyers, Frankfurt
- 2017-Present
Managing Partner, Cho Legal Office, Frankfurt
- 2023-Present
Partner, DLG Law Corporation
Education
- 1994
Augsburg University
- 1999
Research Associate at the Institute for Comparative Law
- 2002
Clerkship at the Higher Court of Brandenburg, Germany
PhD candidate
at Humboldt University, Berlin
- 2008
PhD candidate, Sungkyunkwan University
Activities
- License Agreements, Korean-English edition, Bubyoungsa, Pagenberg, Cho, 2006
- GDPR in EU, 13-part newspaper series for Korean companies in the EU, Korean weekly Kyoposhinmun, 2022
- IPR and Digital Health Care in Germany, Korean Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), 2022
- Frankfurt/Main Bar Association
- German-Korean Lawyers Association (DKJV)
- German-Japanese Lawyers Association (DJJV)
- Korean IP Professionals in the EU (KIPEU)
- Association of Intellectual Property Professionals (VPP)
Qualifications
- 2002
Passed the German Bar Examination
Languages
Korean, German, English