--- title: Spike Lee: Man Claims Upcoming Film "Chiraq" Violates His Trademark description: Emmett Benjamin has contacted the director’s attorney, demanding that Lee refrain from using the term 'Chiraq.' canonical: https://time.com/3910287/spike-lee-chiraq-house-of-christ-temple-divine/ author: David Stout article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-05T06:10:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T07:56:33.769Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Spike Lee’s 'Chiraq' Hit With Trademark Claim og:description: A Chicago resident claims the film title violates his trademarks og:url: https://time.com/3910287/spike-lee-chiraq-house-of-christ-temple-divine/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9809b41849422a11/6988532a2dce01dcb39e40a8/spike-lee.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Director Spike Lee & Actor John Cusack Discuss Upcoming Film og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Spike Lee’s 'Chiraq' Hit With Trademark Claim twitter:description: A Chicago resident claims the film title violates his trademarks twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9809b41849422a11/6988532a2dce01dcb39e40a8/spike-lee.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Spike Lee’s Newest Film Project _Chiraq_ Hit With Trademark Claim by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Jun 5, 2015 6:10 AM CUT  Spike Lee attends a press conference to discuss the upcoming film 'Chiraq' at St. Sabina Church on May 14, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. Spike Lee attends a press conference to discuss the upcoming film 'Chiraq' at St. Sabina Church on May 14, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois.Daniel Boczarski — Getty Images by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Jun 5, 2015 6:10 AM CUT Spike Lee’s latest film project about the Windy City’s troublesome record with gun violence [appears](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-chiraq-trademark-met-20150604-story.html# "undefined") to have attracted another detractor. The upcoming movie, _Chiraq_, first [angered](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/spike-lee-defends-chiraq-film-795883 "undefined") local officials, who fear the film will adversely affect the city’s image. Now somebody has come forward claiming to have several trademarks tied to the slated title of the project. According to the Chicago _Tribune_, Emmett Benjamin has contacted the director’s attorney, demanding that Lee refrain from using _Chiraq_ because of its links to the House of Christ Temple Divine he is associated with. Benjamin lists the concept of the “Sovereign nation of Chi-raqi” in the group’s official charter, reports the _Tribune_. The organization has reportedly used “Chiraq” on articles of clothing, in song lyrics and on myriad websites associated with the temple. “We put over $100 into marketing last year to try to spread awareness,” Benjamin told the daily. “I hate to say it, but Spike Lee’s project would seem to be a result of our hard work in marketing.” Lee has not responded publicly to these allegations. \[[Chicago _Tribune_](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-chiraq-trademark-met-20150604-story.html# "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3910287/spike-lee-chiraq-house-of-christ-temple-divine/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3910287/spike-lee-chiraq-house-of-christ-temple-divine/"},"headline":"Spike Lee’s Newest Film Project Chiraq Hit With Trademark Claim","datePublished":"2015-06-05T06:10:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:56:33.769Z","description":"An individual has contacted the director’s attorney, demanding that Lee refrain from using the term","url":"https://time.com/3910287/spike-lee-chiraq-house-of-christ-temple-divine/","keywords":["movies","Gun Violence","chicago","Spike Lee"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9809b41849422a11/6988532a2dce01dcb39e40a8/spike-lee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9809b41849422a11/6988532a2dce01dcb39e40a8/spike-lee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Director Spike Lee & Actor John Cusack Discuss Upcoming Film","caption":"Director Spike Lee & Actor John Cusack Discuss Upcoming Film","creditText":"Daniel Boczarski — Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3910287/spike-lee-chiraq-house-of-christ-temple-divine/","name":"Spike Lee’s Newest Film Project Chiraq Hit With Trademark Claim"}}]}] ```