I’m fairly certain it would still be extremely impractical for them to sue everyone that violates their license.

There’s also little benefit to them, which makes it even more pointless.

It comes up in the news precisely because it's such an unusual occurrence. Lawfare by attrition is an extremely common tactic. Having more resources than your opponent can massively tilt the scales in your favor.

The most money winning (and using lawsuits to stifle criticism) is very much a part of how society works these days (and arguably always has). See, for example, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_publ...

Money might not buy happiness but it buys an awful lot of power.

Did you watch the "Bananas!" documentary, and its documentary aftermath documentary "Big boys gone bananas!" ?

It's real good, and a good example of big corporations sometimes backing off, however unwillingly.