Starting to see "generic" 5-blade designs showing up at CVS/Walgreens, but I don't believe they are compatible with the Fusion handles.
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2003/08/31/the_war_of_the_razors/
U.S. Design patents have a term of 14 years from the date of issue.
From the article:
"Filed in 1994, patent No. 6,212,777 describes the technology in exacting detail. The patent covers a group of three blades with parallel sharpened edges located between a plastic cap at the top of the cartridge and a guard at the bottom. The blade closest to the cap must stick out no more than .2 mm. The last blade, closest to the guard, must be recessed into the cartridge at least .2 mm. The middle blade must fall in between.
Positioned accordingly, the first blade is designed to lift the hair, the second to cut it and the third to cut it even closer. And though the patent refers to three blades, Kraus said it applies to any three blades similarly aligned, regardless of whether they are part of a four-, five- or 20-blade razor.
In this regard, patent attorneys say, Gillette is likely on firm ground. But little else is certain."
That patent would have expired 3-4 years ago. But there were additional issues on patents under an international treaty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Term_of_patent_in_the_United_States
If the patents are 20 years in length then this patent would expire in 2014.
Gillette has according to this 2003 article "has more than 50 patents covering its Mach3 franchise."
What is not stated is when the cartridge/razor interface patent will soon expire or has expired.
Under US patent law, patents filed before November, 1995 are entitled to 17 years of patent life from the date of issue, which in this case is 2001. Mach3 clones won't be available until 2018 at the earliest.
Nope, the patent number you listed issued in 2001, and the application was filed in 1994. Under the law, that patent expires in 2018. That's also not a design patent (which would have a "D" before the number). It is a utility patent covering an invention that is useful, novel and non-obvious. The product was marketed before that particular patent issued, which is a more common occurrence than most people think.