 The name of the FIP field bus was originally given as an abbreviation of the French "Flux d'Information vers le Processus" while later referring to FIP with the English name "Factory Instrumentation Protocol" (some references also use the hybrid "Flux Information Protocol").Based on the requirements study other manufacturers created similar protocol definitions - starting in 1990 a number of partners from Japan and America merged with FIP to the WorldFIP standardization group (that later merged into the Fieldbus Foundation group).Along with the competing German Profibus the field buses were submitted for European standardization by CENELEC in 1996.