Custom Inspector - break link between duplicate fields?

I created a custom inspector that lets me duplicate an entry in a list. I have two problems.

(1) Entry 2 points to entry 1 in memory, so if I make a change to entry 1 the change is also made to entry 2.

(2) The entry I'm duplicating is a class with lots of sub-classes. Because of this, if I use new, it needs to be in a way that doesn't require me to write out a hundred fields.

If I use the default inspector to make a change to a value in a field, the link between the two entries is severed. This is what I'm trying to achieve w/o having to make a change in the default inspector. EditorUtility.SetDirty doesn't make a difference.

Is there a way to copy entry 1, bring over all of the data in entry 1 to entry 2, and sever the link between them? I suspect I need to use New. If I do need to use new, I'm not sure how to do this without re-adding the data in each field one by one.

Here is a snippet of my code:

CharacterValues.cs: Data for the item (original has more more data)

 using UnityEngine;
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 
 [Serializable]
 public class CharacterValues
 {
     public string nameOfItem;
     public int itemGUID;
     public List<Actions> characterActions = new List<Actions>();
 }

Character.cs (Use this to store copy of a specific item's data)

 using UnityEngine;
 
 public class Character: ScriptableObject
 {
     public CharacterValues CharacterInfo; 
 }

CharacterEditor.cs (custom inspector that displays fields for an item)

 using UnityEngine;
 using UnityEditor;
 using System.Collections;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System;
 using System.Reflection;
 
 [CanEditMultipleObjects]
 [CustomEditor(typeof(Character))]
 public class CharacterInspector : Editor     
 {
     private Character character;
     private Database database;
     private List<Actions> characterActions;
     
     // assign currently open template to inspector
     void OnEnable()
     {
         // get the database (store copy & pasted objects)
         GameObject gameObject = GameObject.Find("Databases");
         database = gameObject.GetComponent<Database>();
         
         // get template
         character = (Character)target;    
     }
     
     // UPDATE
     public override void OnInspectorGUI()
     {
         // show existing inspector
         base.OnInspectorGUI();
         
         // A bunch of code is here. action = an Actions entry in a list.
         
         // Copy
         if (GUILayout.Button("Copy"))
             database.copiedActionNode = action;
         
         // Paste
         if (GUILayout.Button("Paste"))
         {
             if (database.copiedActionNode != null)
                 characterActions.Insert(actionID+1, database.copiedActionNode); 
         }        
         
         EditorUtility.SetDirty(character);    
 
     }