diff --git a/modules/juce_audio_devices/audio_io/juce_AudioDeviceManager.cpp b/modules/juce_audio_devices/audio_io/juce_AudioDeviceManager.cpp
index d3d5dcd3ca..5f225a8fb7 100644
--- a/modules/juce_audio_devices/audio_io/juce_AudioDeviceManager.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_audio_devices/audio_io/juce_AudioDeviceManager.cpp
@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ void AudioDeviceManager::insertDefaultDeviceNames (AudioDeviceSetup& setup) cons
 
 XmlElement* AudioDeviceManager::createStateXml() const
 {
-    return lastExplicitSettings != nullptr ? new XmlElement (*lastExplicitSettings) : nullptr;
+    return lastExplicitSettings.createCopy();
 }
 
 //==============================================================================
diff --git a/modules/juce_core/memory/juce_Memory.h b/modules/juce_core/memory/juce_Memory.h
index 7c8d102545..830c434570 100644
--- a/modules/juce_core/memory/juce_Memory.h
+++ b/modules/juce_core/memory/juce_Memory.h
@@ -75,6 +75,11 @@ inline Type* addBytesToPointer (Type* pointer, int bytes) noexcept  { return (Ty
 template <typename Type1, typename Type2>
 inline int getAddressDifference (Type1* pointer1, Type2* pointer2) noexcept  { return (int) (((const char*) pointer1) - (const char*) pointer2); }
 
+/** If a pointer is non-null, this returns a new copy of the object that it points to, or safely returns
+    nullptr if the pointer is null.
+*/
+template <class Type>
+inline Type* createCopyIfNotNull (Type* pointer)     { return pointer != nullptr ? new Type (*pointer) : nullptr; }
 
 //==============================================================================
 /* In a Windows DLL build, we'll expose some malloc/free functions that live inside the DLL, and use these for
diff --git a/modules/juce_core/memory/juce_ScopedPointer.h b/modules/juce_core/memory/juce_ScopedPointer.h
index 25c99f7085..38c06768f4 100644
--- a/modules/juce_core/memory/juce_ScopedPointer.h
+++ b/modules/juce_core/memory/juce_ScopedPointer.h
@@ -169,6 +169,11 @@ public:
         std::swap (object, other.object);
     }
 
+    /** If the pointer is non-null, this will attempt to return a new copy of the object that is pointed to.
+        If the pointer is null, this will safely return a nullptr.
+    */
+    inline ObjectType* createCopy() const                                           { return createCopyIfNotNull (object); }
+
 private:
     //==============================================================================
     ObjectType* object;
diff --git a/modules/juce_data_structures/values/juce_ValueTree.cpp b/modules/juce_data_structures/values/juce_ValueTree.cpp
index 78543355f6..74f2cde178 100644
--- a/modules/juce_data_structures/values/juce_ValueTree.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_data_structures/values/juce_ValueTree.cpp
@@ -708,7 +708,7 @@ bool ValueTree::isEquivalentTo (const ValueTree& other) const
 
 ValueTree ValueTree::createCopy() const
 {
-    return ValueTree (object != nullptr ? new SharedObject (*object) : nullptr);
+    return ValueTree (createCopyIfNotNull (object.getObject()));
 }
 
 bool ValueTree::hasType (const Identifier& typeName) const
diff --git a/modules/juce_graphics/colour/juce_FillType.cpp b/modules/juce_graphics/colour/juce_FillType.cpp
index 66ce54ce58..64b26de80e 100644
--- a/modules/juce_graphics/colour/juce_FillType.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_graphics/colour/juce_FillType.cpp
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ FillType::FillType (const Image& image_, const AffineTransform& transform_) noex
 
 FillType::FillType (const FillType& other)
     : colour (other.colour),
-      gradient (other.gradient != nullptr ? new ColourGradient (*other.gradient) : nullptr),
+      gradient (other.gradient.createCopy()),
       image (other.image),
       transform (other.transform)
 {
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ FillType& FillType::operator= (const FillType& other)
     if (this != &other)
     {
         colour = other.colour;
-        gradient = (other.gradient != nullptr ? new ColourGradient (*other.gradient) : nullptr);
+        gradient = other.gradient.createCopy();
         image = other.image;
         transform = other.transform;
     }
diff --git a/modules/juce_opengl/opengl/juce_OpenGLGraphicsContext.cpp b/modules/juce_opengl/opengl/juce_OpenGLGraphicsContext.cpp
index 510037b338..08dd6777c5 100644
--- a/modules/juce_opengl/opengl/juce_OpenGLGraphicsContext.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_opengl/opengl/juce_OpenGLGraphicsContext.cpp
@@ -1873,8 +1873,7 @@ public:
         : clip (other.clip), transform (other.transform), font (other.font),
           fillType (other.fillType), interpolationQuality (other.interpolationQuality),
           state (other.state), transparencyLayerAlpha (other.transparencyLayerAlpha),
-          transparencyLayer (other.transparencyLayer),
-          previousTarget (other.previousTarget != nullptr ? new OpenGLTarget (*other.previousTarget) : nullptr)
+          transparencyLayer (other.transparencyLayer), previousTarget (other.previousTarget.createCopy())
     {
     }