New York ? The owners of several Times Square buildings have filed a lawsuit against the makers of the upcoming “Spider-Man” movie for digitally altering a sign appearing in the motion picture.

In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, the owners of 2 Times Square allege that Columbia Pictures digitally replaced a Samsung advertisement on the side of the building with one for USA Today. The sign appears three times in the film, according to court papers.

Samsung is a competitor of Sony, which owns Columbia Pictures.

“We think it’s inappropriate to substitute your own image for the one that exists,” Anthony Costantini, a lawyer for building owners Sherwood 48 Associates, told the Daily News in Thursday’s editions.

The Samsung advertisement also was changed in some television commercials promoting the movie with an ad for a wireless telephone company.

A spokesman for Columbia Pictures in Los Angeles declined to comment.

The movie, starring Tobey Maguire as the Marvel Comics superhero, is scheduled to be released May 3.