What aspects should be considered when creating a copy of an object that is an instance of an immutable class?

When creating a copy of an object with immutable properties in Java, it is important to consider that:

• The object itself, being immutable, does not require deep cloning, as its state will not change.
• The copy can simply be a reference to the same object, since modification is impossible.
• If the class contains references to mutable objects, it must be ensured that they are also immutable or cloned to avoid side effects.

Example:

public final class ImmutablePoint {
    private final int x;
    private final int y;

    public ImmutablePoint(int x, int y) {
        this.x = x;
        this.y = y;
    }

    public int getX() { return x; }
    public int getY() { return y; }

    // The copy can simply return the same object
    public ImmutablePoint copy() {
        return this; // safe because the object is immutable
    }
}