Yes, and maybe they should be regulated too. They enjoy dominant positions in the market and blatantly rip off successful products down to the color and bottle shape.
But any idiot can figure out which are the successful products on those search engines. They are literally there trying to be found and broadcast their popularity.
The patent system is for protecting ideas which the law allows to be protected.
But any idiot can’t get Walmart or Amazon to prominently place their copycat product on shelves or in search results. Only these retail behemoths can guarantee the competitive placement of their products in the market.
Doesnt Walmart and Amazon do that as well, looking at the data and then making their own in house products?