AS3 Duplicate MovieClip with its class constructor

// This is for creating a duplicate of a stage object that exists in the FLA library at compile time
// The object must have a 'Export for Actionscript ticked in it's properties panel and a valid class name in the 'Class' box
// If the symbol only has a single frame just add another so it registers as MovieClip() rather than Sprite()
 
private function cloneObject(source:DisplayObject):void
{
	var objectClass:Class = Object(source).constructor;
	var instance:MovieClip = new objectClass() as MovieClip;
	instance.transform = source.transform;
	instance.filters = source.filters;
	instance.cacheAsBitmap = source.cacheAsBitmap;
	instance.opaqueBackground = source.opaqueBackground;
	source.parent.addChild(instance);
	instance.x += 20; // just to show the duplicate exists!
}