ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,497,281, issued on Dec. 16, was assigned to Bar Evolution LLC (Las Vegas).

"System for controllably connecting a beverage dispensing package to a supply line" was invented by Peter DeRaedt (Henderson, Nev.) and Bernd Witzany (Munich).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A system containing a beverage dispensing package to a supply line, with associated supply line information, is provided. The beverage dispensing package has a package tag, having associated package information, affixed thereto. The package includes a connector assembly, a controller, a reader associated with the connector assembly, and a locking mechanism. The connector assembl...