Apart from the cost and the geographic scope of protection, are there any fundamental differences between a Community Trade Mark and a UK trade mark?

A Community Trade Mark (CTM) is a trade mark examined and registered at the community trade mark office (OHIM) in Alicante, Spain.

CTM registrations provide registered trade marks rights in all EU member states but in order to be successful an application must be deemed acceptable in all member states. In other words if an application fails in 1 member state the whole application fails.

Obviously the CTM fee structure reflects the breadth of protection so it is more expensive than e.g. an application in the UK. That said, it is a sensible route if the applicant requires extensive EU protection but remember that you are open to opposition from others throughout the EU.

If you apply in a single country e.g. the UK, your rights will be limited to that country. It really depends on how you envisage your trading and where you hope to use your trade mark.

The registered rights in the UK are identical regardless of how they are obtained - UK or CTM.