When we talk about the formula, we are talking about 3 types of formulation.

The first one is well-known and public formulation. There are no copyright or patent on it. Every company can use them.

The second one is complex formulation. There are no copyright or patent on it, but it is also difficult to copy since there are many ingredients in one formula.

The third one is protected formulation. Only certain companies can use it. Even though you know the formulation, you cannot use it.