By Wondwossen Mezlekia January 9, 2012 It looks like this decade is shaping up nicely as a period of Coffee Rush in Ethiopia; of course, with little resemblance to the California Gold Rush (1848–1855) and involving mostly internal actors. Reminisce the trademark dispute between Starbucks and Ethiopia that publicly erupted six years ago. In 2006, Oxfam stood up, on behalf of Ethiopian farmers, and demanded Starbucks to drop the hindrance it created against the name "Sidamo" at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Starbucks ultimately gave in and even promised to open a Farmer Support Center in Addis Ababa by 2008. Ethiopia now has the legal right to add the symbol ® next to the coffee names Harar, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe in the United States (and some other countries) though the Farmer Support Center is still missing. And the NGO that is behind the project is now claiming that the farmers' annual income has doubled to about $278 as a result. R...