Lock and Duplicate

Many times, I use one object as a reference to duplicate and combine with other objects. Sometimes, however, I forget to duplicate it first and end up incorporating it directly into my design. Later, when I want to continue with the next object, I realize my reference object is gone.

What I would like is the ability to lock the reference object, and then have an option to select and drag it in a way that automatically creates a duplicate. This could be controlled by an on/off toggle in the interactive panel.

In short: I lock the object, enable "Copy locked object with drag" in the panel, and then any drag operation creates a duplicate of the locked object. The newly created object would not be locked.