[dragonwriter]

> GPL has already established that runtime linking counts as a derived work

No, whether runtime/dynamic linking (or even static linking) creates a derivative work under copyright (as is when, to the extent it does, such a use would nonetheless be fair use and still not require a license) is still a contentious topic, and AFAIK there are no cases strongly suggesting a general answer.

A license offering permission cannot itself resolve when the law requires such permission. Arguing that it can is like saying my offering terms of permission to use my home and claiming that they apply to use of the public street out front establishes that I own the street.

[ninkendo]

If your argument is that AGPL can’t restrict me from using mongo in a proprietary product because copyright law itself does not restrict this, then you may or may not be right, I don’t think any of us know for sure until this is tested in court. I will say that the AGPL is written with the assumption that this is restricted by copyright law, so I don’t think your interpretation is the common one.