But they are using functionally equivalent formulas and Coke is still fine.

if coke did not have deep pockets, it would have gone under without this protection.

there are a million different manufacturers of, for example, hot dogs, and those hot dogs basically taste all the same to everyone, and yet they're all making basically identical hotdogs and doing fine

But none of them would end up becoming Coca Cola. At least not just by selling hot dogs.