Alcohol in "Flight" puts trademark laws in focus The use of brand-name beer and liquor in a hit movie about an alcoholic pilot has brought product placement practices into new focus. Anheuser-Busch InBev, the brewery behind Budweiser, has asked Paramount to remove its beverages from its new film "Flight," which features Denzel Washington as a pilot who struggles with alcoholism. Washington, who has already received acclaim for starring as Whip Whitaker, is shown in the film downing beer after beer, even drinking from a Budweiser can while driving a car. Anheuser-Busch has asked that their drinks logo be removed or hidden from digital copies and future versions of the films release on other formats. "Flight" premieres in L.A. "We would never condone the misuse of our products, and have a long history of promoting responsible drinking and preventing drunk driving," Rob McCarthy, vice president of Budweiser, wrote in a statement to The Associated Press. Legal experts say fairly recent product placement practices, in which companies pay producers to use their products in TV and movie scenes, have mistakenly given corporations the idea that they can control the use of their products on camera. Experts say studios are not obligated to get permission before featuring a product in their work. Filmmakers, legal experts say, are protected under federal "fair use" privileges for use of trademark products without getting the OK of the rights holder. McCarthy said that the company wasn't contacted by Paramount or the production company of director Robert Zemeckis for permission to use the beer in "Flight." Budweiser is hardly the only alcoholic beverage shown in "Flight," which earned $25 million in its debut weekend and is likely to remain popular with audiences. William Grant & Sons, which distributes Stolichnaya in the United States, also said it didn't license its brand for inclusion in the film and wouldn't have given permission if asked