Status: IN
Prototype and Factory Method occupy contrasting positions on the coupling-to-product axis (Prototype's maximal product coupling via Clone vs. Factory Method's intermediate position, with Builder at the decoupled extreme) and on the class-proliferation axis (Prototype eliminates parallel creator hierarchies through composition while Factory Method requires O(n) creator subclasses), suggesting that within this pair, reduced structural cost correlates with increased product coupling in creational design.
The coupling-proliferation inverse relationship emerges from combining the coupling spectrum with Prototype's demonstrated explosion elimination
Depends on (SL): creational-coupling-spectrum-informs-pattern-selection, prototype-eliminates-hierarchy-explosion-via-composition-shift