The correct meaning of ´downloading´ a computer was recently held to be that given in the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English (9th Edition, 1995) which was the transfer of data from one storage system or device to another (R v City of London Magistrates´ Court ex p. Green,1997). Perhaps ´transfer´ is not sufficient to convey the sense of what happens as it suggests exchange. In fact the web page program is copied and read by the browser.
Downloading a file from an Internet site onto a viewer´s hard disk without permission, express or implied, constitutes the making of an unauthorised copy in violation of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner.