Simplify the following text for a Grade 9 native English-speaking person.
Original: AOL later acquired Mirabilis , the authors of ICQ ; a few years later ICQ ( now owned by AOL ) was awarded two patents for instant messaging by the U.S. patent office .
Simplified: AOL later acquired Mirabilis , the creators of ICQ . A few years later ICQ ( by now owned by AOL ) was awarded two patents for instant messaging by the U.S. patent office .