The data fields are divided into four areas. The first area is the office action area. All data fields in the office action area are labeled as 'OA+number'. Numbers are separated by data field groups. (they may not always be consecutive numbers)
No. of patent rejections by the USPTO has been declining
The overall trend of patents being rejected due to lack of novelty (102) or non-obviousness (103) in examination at the United States of America's Intellectual Property Office is a significant decline of - 2.22% per year based on the most recent 10 years, and - 5.45% per year based on the most recent 8 years as of 2015.
Thus, when analyzing the No. of rejected subsequent patents in possession by company/company's technology field or by inventor, the average downward trend across the United States of America's intellectual property offices must be considered.