People would still be free to use and purchase based on the generic chemical name.
Furthermore, I would consider tradesecrets a form of IP so, if we are considering a scenario in which IP were abolished, tradesecrets would be abolished too in the sense that they would be afforded no legal protections. True, a formula or process could still be kept secret, but without protection for that secrecy it seems unlikely that real innovations would remain secret for long and market competition would increase as a result.
But the economy doesn't want them, or is unable to utilize them under present conditions. Eating what you have in front of you is still more filling than waiting (or letting someone wait) for that next, bigger meal.
Of course, that also doesn't mean we shouldn't eliminate the incentives that contribute to inefficiencies being preferable. There are plenty of scenarios where people are employed to dig a proverbial hole and others are paid to fill it (patents and copyright enforcing intellectual poverty; interest on public debt, etc), even if each side spares no expense and might use the best tools available. If we were actually solving problems, prices would be going down and people would be happily unemployed (because there were less problems to resolve and less to need money to buy) at the same time as quality of life were going up. That is not what is happening.
> My problem is I have no idea what to do about the w3c.
If the W3C disappeared tomorrow, the world would be fine. (Similarly, the weather channel is not an essential service, planes can still attain flight without the TSA, and there is still life outside of the panopticon's walls...)
The W3C served a useful role a few decades ago when it focused on codifying historical standards that resulted from the early exponential growth but, like many others who took the minutes in important situations, they now seem to think they are "leaders." But documenting historical growth doesn't mean you are suddenly a source of good ideas; leading isn't something you say you will do, it's something others say you did.
I propose that everyone simply ignore the W3C whenever it's useful.
If only ignoring the TSA, the NSA, and corporate managers were as easy.
I have to say, I was really taken aback when I found that, and it made me wonder if I was doing the right thing promoting yet another censorship engine. Needless to say, I haven't changed anyone's homepage/search to DDG since discovering that as it took a bit of the wind out of my sails.
That's not what I normally conclude when I think "text-based."