BIRPI is an acronym for Bureaux Internationaux Réunis pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle (French for "United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property").
In 1873, a pressing issue became evident for creators, in that they feared that others would steal their ideas since there was no way to regulate such things.
Many exhibitors chose not to attend the International Exhibition of Inventions in Vienna, Austria that year.
[1] In 1893, the International Bureau established by the Paris Convention and the International Bureau established by Berne Convention, both to carry out administrative tasks, merged to form the BIRPI.
[1] The BIRPI changed to the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization).