Why clone method is protected in Java

Question

Why is the clone() method of java.lang.Object package is a protected method?

Answer 1

The clone() is protected because it is not declared in the Cloneable interface. Because of this reason, the clone method becomes somewhat useless as it might make the copies of your existing data.

It makes the method pretty useless for taking copies of data because you cannot say:

For better understanding you can refer to the below citation.

Citation From Josh Bloch's Effective Java:
"The Cloneable interface was intended as a mixin interface for objects to advertise that they permit cloning. Unfortunately it fails to serve this purpose ... This is a highly atypical use of interfaces and not one to be emulated ... In order for implementing the interface to have any effect on a class, it and all of its superclasses must obey a fairly complex, unenforceable and largely undocumented protocol"

Hope this clears your doubt.