How is this different than what SCO was trying to force upon IBM, other than the fact that SCO is now Microsoft and IBM is now all Linux distros, except for Novell?
For one, SCO v. IBM isn't about any SCO patents. The big difference is that Microsoft actually makes software that people want to buy, while the SCO case is a sad attempt by a failing company to use jackpot justice to rescue itself from its own mismanagement. Even among people who want to use traditional UNIX, the reputation of SCO's product compared to Solaris or others is not very good.