During this period, beverage bottles were straight-sided, clear, or brown bottles. To differentiate itself from other competitors, in 1906 the company introduced a diamond-shaped label. Unfortunately this did not bode well as the labels ended up peeling off and even imitating. (Ryan, 2015). Knowing that they had to stand out from the competition and ensure that their brand could not be easily imitated, a committee made up of bottlers and Coca-Cola officials met in 1916 to choose the bottle's design. The winner of the project was the Root Glass Company. The glass had to weigh no less than 14.5 ounces, so that when loaded with 6.5 ounces of drink it would weigh more than a pound. (Ryan, 2015). After going through several years of patent renewals, finally on April 12, 1961 the Coca-Cola bottle was recognized as a trademark.