Object Deep Copy via Serialization

ObjectCopier.cs

namespace __NAMESPACE__
{
    using System;
    using System.IO;
    using System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary;

    public static class ObjectCopier
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Perform a deep copy of the object.
        /// </summary>
        /// <typeparam name="T">The type of object being copied.</typeparam>
        /// <param name="source">The object instance to copy.</param>
        /// <returns>The copied object.</returns>
        public static T Clone<T>(T source)
        {
            if (!typeof (T).IsSerializable)
            {
                throw new ArgumentException("The type must be serializable.", "source");
            }

            // Don't serialize a null object, simply return the default for that object
            if (ReferenceEquals(source, null))
            {
                return default(T);
            }

            var formatter = new BinaryFormatter();
            var stream = new MemoryStream();
            using (stream)
            {
                formatter.Serialize(stream, source);
                stream.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin);
                return (T) formatter.Deserialize(stream);
            }
        }
    }
}