Small Victory For Amanda Knox

ROME, March 22, 2010— -- Amanda Knox, the Seattle student serving a 26-year murder sentence in Italy, has won a small victory when an Italian court awarded her $55,0000 (40,000 euros) in damages.

The American woman who has had a steady losing streak in Italian courts had sued the author of a book charging a violation of privacy and illegal publication of court documents.

Knox was the main focus of an instant-book by Italian journalist Fiorenza Sarzanini that went to press shortly after Knox was indicted and before she went to trial.

"Amanda e gli Altri" (Amanda and the Others) was published by Italian publisher Rizzoli in November 2008, and features a stunning photo of Knox walking into court on the cover, her blue eyes staring right into the camera.

Knox, 23, and her former boyfriend, Italian student Raffaele Sollecito, 26, were convicted in December 2009 of murdering Knox's British roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy. Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison while Sollecito got 25 years.

A third person, Ivory Coast native Rudi Guede, 23, is also serving a prison sentence for his role in the murder. His original conviction to 30 years for his role in the crime was reduced to 16 yearson appeal.

The book by Sarzanini quotes extensively from Knox's diary and personal notebooks, as well as from interrogations of witnesses, some of which were not in the public domain.

Amanda Knox's lawyer, Carlo Dalla Vedova, told ABC News that in the proceedings against Sarzanini and Rizzoli, he had argued a violation of Knox's privacy as far as her sexual activity and medical history were concerned, both of which are protected by privacy laws in Italy.

Dalla Vedova also charged that Knox's rights were violated when a photo of her in police custody was published in a Rizzoli magazine, and because the magazine and Sarzanini's book quoted legal documents that were not public.