MUMBAI :  Ed Sheeran had strong words for a musicologist on Monday (U.S. East Coast Time) as the court hearing over alleged similarities between his hit 'Thinking Out Loud' and R&B and soul singer Marvin Gaye's classic 'Let's Get It On' entered its second week, reports 'Variety'.

"I think what he is doing is criminal," Sheeran said of the prior testimony from Alexander Stewart, a musicologist hired as an expert witness by Gaye's estate, according to the 'New York Times'. "I don't know why he's allowed to be an expert."

Sheeran, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Publishing are being sued by three heirs of Ed Townsend, who is the credited co-writer with Gaye on the 1973 song.

As he did last week, notes 'Variety', Sheeran played his guitar to refute Stewart's testimony, in which he argued that one of the chords he plays in the opening of 'Thinking Out Loud' is similar to the minor one that appears at the same point throughout 'Let's Get It On'.

This past Thursday, according to 'Variety', Sheeran played a major chord he said he has played at that point in "every single gig", and then the minor one that Stewart mentioned. "It works very, very well for him," Sheeran said, "but it's not the truth."

Sheeran returned to the stand on Monday and, under questioning from Ilene S. Farkas, one of his attorneys, 'Variety' adds, showed that he can segue smoothly between bits of his own compositions and other songs, by Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Blackstreet and Van Morrison, claiming that Stewart had misrepresented the melodies of his songs -- and his intentions.

SOURCE : IANS