Re: the issue is supposedly the APIs
Yes, and this is the problem with courts that act more like roulette wheels than actual legal rulings.
I expect that Google is not whittling away at the case to save money as much as to limit the possible attack paths when they argue the fair use angle. IF they win on fair use they don't need to appeal the idiotic API ruling. If they don't win on fair use, they still have the option of appealing the API ruling. Hopefully a full SCOTUS could be convinced of the idiocy of the appellate court ruling.